The Art of Destruction
by MiyuCat
Summary: The explosion had been a catalyst in more way than one, and Sakura ended up caught between ideals. Much angsty fluff and later, lemons! DeiSaku
1. Outburst

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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_"Every new beginning comes from another Beginning's end."_

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When Sakura saw the blast, she had thought it was beautiful. The glowing entity reaching up, almost like it was trying to catch the sun. It had entranced her, and made her forget about everything. When the sound of the explosion reached her, it wasn't a loud harsh sound like she had expected; it was a deep vibrating hum of raw chakra and fire. It reverberated through her body, strange feelings coming over her, unable to tear her eyes away until the bright light began to fade.

Then she came to her senses. They needed to get Sasuke back to Konoha, and it looked likely that he could have been hurt, or worse. She hurried to the site of the explosion, even though the rumbling aftershock had not yet stopped. She used her chakra to push herself off the mossy tree branches even faster, almost slipping in her anxiousness. Was she finally going to bring Sasuke home? For Naruto? She wanted to repay Naruto for all the times he had saved her, and the friendship he had given. Kakashi would also find relief in his return. She knew he felt responsible for his defection. Her own feelings for Sasuke were uncertain as of now. She needed to see him to find clarity in her feelings.

Crows and other birds flew from the direction of the explosion, fleeing the site of destruction as fast as they could. The sound of their wings and terror deepened her feeling of impending doom in her chest.

She reached the edge of the trees and paused, the ones here were blackened where they faced the devastation, their moss still clinging to the other side. She gazed at the decimated area, stumps of trees still sprouting little orange flames. She doubted anyone was alive here. Her lungs tried to reject the tainted air, and the sharp sound of her coughing interrupted the stunned silence of the forest. The after effects of the bomb made the air hum with chakra, making it difficult for her to distinguish any individual chakra signatures as she searched for a familiar one.

The ground was hot beneath her feet, even through her thick travelling boots. She began to trudge towards the centre of the crater, her heart sinking as she smelled burning flesh. Her eyes watered from the smoke, decreasing her visibility even further. What was she going to find? She was so terrified of finding Sasuke's charred corpse and having to tell Naruto, that she felt sick with dread. However, in the back of her mind, she knew that she would be partly relieved. No more searching, no more long sleepless nights wondering if he was alright. It would be over. She continued to search, not knowing what to hope for.

She tensed. There was a body, lying face down in the blackened earth, which was darker with sticky, burned blood around where his body lay. Strangely enough, his hair was untouched. The long, pretty gold tresses didn't even have any blood on. It wasn't Sasuke. He had on the standard Akatsuki ring and trousers, although he wore no cloak or hat. She was certain that this was the bomber Naruto had fought.

She checked the pulse, moving the hair to touch his neck. His skin was hot to touch, and she could feel a definite pulse. She gently rolled him onto his back to get a better look at the damage. The man's face was covered in dirt and blood. She would clean it if he survived. She looked at his torso and gasped when she saw what looked like a small hollow cavity in the man's chest, with two ribs sticking straight out of his body, fractured as though something had burst from his torso. She'd never seen a wound like this before. No major organs seemed to have been hit, which she found strange considering the hole took up some of the space where the heart and lungs should have been. She placed her hands over the hollow bleeding space and poured her chakra into it. This man might know something about Sasuke.

She couldn't believe what she discovered. The reason that there was no organ damage was because the organs had never occupied that space. The heart was further towards the top of the torso than it should have been, and the left lung was partially collapsed. It looked like he had been this way for quite some time looking at the moulded shape of the tissues. It seemed as though some ball shaped object had been the cause of the hollow space and collapsed lung.

Without hesitating any longer, she began to heal him. First she used her chakra to inflate the collapsed lung, clearing the blood and mucus, making him cough it up. She was amazed he had been able to fight in this condition. She replicated cells in his aorta and pulmonary vein, lengthening them so she could move the heart to its correct place. With her chakra she could tell that the heart was also a lot smaller than it should have been for a man of this size, so she tried something. She made it bigger. She replicated the muscle tissue of his heart until it felt larger and stronger. The healing had cost her a lot of chakra, but she still had to close up the open wound. She had disinfected it as best she could, but chakra wasn't the best thing for fighting infection. She wished she had some spirits or something. She pushed the ribs back into their correct position, wincing at the rough grating noise they made when they slipped into place. She used enough chakra just to make them stick, but not heal them completely. She encouraged skin cells to replicate, her hands glowing a beautiful green colour. She didn't notice him crack open a vivid blue eye and focus on her concentrating face blearily.

" 'M alive?" He croaked through swollen lips that were caked in dried blood.

She jumped, but managed to keep her chakra steady. It was very surprising that he was alive at all, let alone able to speak. Surely he couldn't have any chakra left after the firework display he just put on. He tried to move his arms to reach out for something, failing as he just twitched and remained as he was.

"You shouldn't move; you've taken a lot of damage." She said softly, continuing to close the wound and smooth over the skin with her chakra. She wanted to close it completely, but it didn't look like she had the energy. She bit her lip as she found herself reaching the end of her reserves, and the world seemed to be getting darker.

"You're cute, yeah..." Was the last thing she heard before she found herself falling against his warm torso, unable to remain conscious.

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**A/N: **This is the first chapter of my new DeiSaku fic. There is much more to come I promise! I promise exploitation of clichés, invention of new ones, and many situations in which dignity is compromised!

(I am aware that beginnings similar to this have been used in other fics. I promise the rest will be very different to other DeiSaku fics. Also much longer chapters; this is just a prologue.)

Just hit the review button to inspire me!


	2. Hostage

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

"Sakura-chan!" a familiar voice called. "Why are you sleeping on that Akatsuki guy?! Sakura-chan!"

She heard footsteps hurriedly approaching. She didn't want to move, she was so comfortable on this warm pillow. She could hear a strong heartbeat, and felt something warm against her cheek._ Oh right, I was healing someone... _She was so tired that she didn't even blush when she realised what she was lying on.

She dragged herself into a sitting position and squinted at the figures surrounding her. It was Naruto, Kakashi, and Sai. Kakashi's expression was unreadable as always, Naruto looked furious, and Sai, as usual, looked very pleased.

"Sakura, are you all right?" She heard Kakashi ask, his words sounding blurry in her head. She looked down at the man she had healed, and seeing that he was unconscious, she looked up at Kakashi.

"This is the man I found here. I figured he might know something about Sasuke or at least something about Akatsuki. I healed him." She sighed in frustration. "I ran out of chakra and fell asleep. Can you tell if Sasuke's near?"

"I see." Kakashi said softly, looking down at the unconscious man. "I don't think Sasuke was killed in the blast. He was here not long ago, and it smells as though he may have had comrades with him, but we should get you to an inn to rest up first. We can't travel with you like this." Kakashi paused, looking down again with a slight smile on his face. "I thought he was dead."

Disappointment and more frustration made her posture slump further. Although she hated for them to think of her as a burden, they were right. Right now, she would only slow them down. She was certain Naruto wanted to go straight after Sasuke, and she didn't want to hold them back. She would shoulder this responsibility on her own, doing what she could for her village.

"I want you to go and look for Sasuke without me. I don't need help taking him to Konoha; with these kinds of wounds, he'll be out for a good few days." She assured them. "I can always knock him out with some anaesthetics if he wakes up before we reach Konoha." She tried to look confident, smiling up at Kakashi through her chakra depletion. He looked thoughtful.

Kakashi knew she'd rather be out in the field with her team, helping to find Sasuke instead of babysitting a wounded enemy, but he also knew that the thing she hated most in the world was the be a hindrance to her team. She'd rather be on her own than cause them trouble. If they waited for her to regain her chakra, and lost track of Sasuke, then he knew she'd blame herself. And that would still leave the problem of the wounded Akatsuki. They couldn't take him with them, but they couldn't leave him or kill him either. This man was a valuable information source Konoha needed. He would have to leave her, but he wouldn't leave her unprepared. He pulled something shiny out of his pocket.

"Take this." He placed what appeared to be a bracelet in her hand. "The Hokage originally gave me this for Sasuke, but I'm sure we can manage without it. Put it on his wrist and focus your chakra into it until it shrinks to fit his wrist. It will make him unable to access his chakra, but also, if the flow of the chakra in the bracelet stops, like if you die, then it will cut into his skin and release two grams of liquid cyanide into his bloodstream. You can take it off by using your chakra to make the metal expand. I'll tell you what to expect from him on the way to the inn." Kakashi picked Deidara up bridal style which made Sakura smile a little despite the situation. The unconscious man looked very feminine being carried like that.

Sakura smiled as she inspected the chakra bind. Even though it was getting dark, she could tell that it was very pretty, its coloured sheen reflecting the dimming sky. She was sure the criminal would object to wearing it, especially since it was pink.

She turned to her team members. "Good luck Naruto, Sai." She told them sincerely. Naruto nodded and darted off with a whoosh of air.

"You've got blood on your face, ugly." Sai replied, before following Naruto. She wiped it off with her sleeve. Sai's nickname bothered her a lot less than it used to.

The inn they arrived at seemed like a respectable place, looking around at the polished wood floors and noting the sweet smell of fresh flowers.

"A room for two, but separate beds please." She asked the aged innkeeper, who smiled and handed over a key.

"Sakura, is this really okay?" Kakashi suddenly felt like maybe this wasn't such a good idea, as he carried the Akatsuki member up towards the room. Sakura may be strong but right now she was vulnerable without her chakra, and she was a girl after all. There were things that men could do which would leave damage that lasted longer than scars.

"Kakashi, I promise I'll put the chakra bind on as soon as I have a little to spare. I'll tie him up as well." She wanted to be useful, and this was all she could do. "I'll set off for Konoha in a day's time. I can do this Kakashi, let me try?" She pleaded with her big green eyes.

Kakashi laid the sleeping man on the bed furthest from the door. "If anything goes wrong, we're both screwed. Don't mess this up." He warned her. He put his gloved hand on her shoulder, looking at her resignedly with his dark grey eye. "Be careful Sakura."

And with that, she was alone.

The man on the bed mumbled something that sounded like "Cats..." and giggled in his sleep. Well, almost alone.

She had learned from Kakashi that his name was Deidara, and he liked to blow things up with explosive clay. She also learned that he could manoeuvre his explosions and detonate them with his chakra. He sounded like he could cause a lot of problems if you gave him some clay, and she would definitely rather not meet him in a serious fight.

She put down her pack and went to the bathroom across the hall to get some hot water, carrying the full bowl carefully to her room. She walked over to him and placed the water by his bed. She had not been able to fully heal him, so she would have to do what she could traditionally. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she unclasped her medic kit from her belt, and began to treat the wound without chakra. First, she cleaned the area with a cloth from her kit and some hot water. She rubbed some antiseptic cream on the open area which was weeping slightly. It didn't look good, the sooner she got her chakra back the better. She dressed the wound quickly, taping the bandage onto his chest, which she noticed was a very nice chest. From what she could see beneath the dirt, he was a little tanned, with defined muscles. He looked lithe, and just a little boyish. She thought, just for a second, that he was a little like Naruto.

She touched his forehead gently, brushing away a few strands from his dusty face to check his temperature. It was a little high, but there was not a lot she could do about it. She used another wet cloth to wipe the dust from his face, starting at his eyes, and working outwards. When she had finished, she was a little surprised at what she saw. He looked around twenty, maybe a little younger, and he had what looked like scars from burns across his left eye. Other than that, he had a very pretty face, and if it wasn't for the masculine jaw line, he really could be mistaken for a girl. As it was, he was actually very good looking. She reached to touch the scars, wondering how he got them. Her fingers traced the soft bumps. They looked a few years old, definitely from a burn of some sort. They could be fixed with chakra, she thought as she looked at the marks closely.

Suddenly, his left hand grabbed hold of her wrist with a very strong grip, his luminous blue eyes open and looking straight at her.

"Why are you touching me, hm?" He asked, clearly amused, but not entirely lucid. "Not that I mind, but it's a bad habit to assault people in their sleep, yeah." She realised how close her face was to his and pulled away, flushing pink at the overlap in personal space. His grip on her wrist loosened, and he traced his hand up her arm, towards her neck, watching her reactions with a smug smile on his face. Did something just lick her?

He definitely knew he was good looking, Sakura thought as she firmly removed his hand without saying a word. She took out some soft ties and used them to secure his left hand to the bed post, followed by the right. The look on his face as he found himself too weak to fight back was something she would always treasure. "What are you doing?" He tried to wriggle out of her firm grasp. "I was only joking, un, I don't like to be the one tied up."

"This is so you won't escape since you can move a little now, and this:" She pulled out a syringe and a small vial of fluid, "is so I can sleep." She filled the syringe with about a centimetre of the drug and looked for a good vein on his helplessly stretched out arm. He tried feebly to pull it out of her reach, but failed miserably. She poked the needle into his vein, and smiled in relief as she saw him start to lose consciousness.

Scooting further up the bed, she untied one of his hands, confident in the effectiveness of the drug. She slipped the pretty poisoned bangle over his slender but strong-looking wrists. She felt a little guilty as she focused a small amount of her already depleted chakra into it. He looked so vulnerable like this, a far cry from the man she had seen briefly at the Akatsuki hideout. Then she thought of all the people he'd probably killed with his explosions, and felt a lot less guilty.

Now to look at what had licked her. She turned his hand over, and there, on his palm, was a line that looked like lips. Kakashi hadn't told her about these. She poked them experimentally, and a tongue rolled out lazily. She jumped a little in surprise, but was intrigued as she saw little white teeth behind the tongue. She poked the tongue gently, and flushed when the hand mouth gently sucked her finger. She withdrew her finger with a soft pop, and rebound his arm to the bed post.

She went over to her own bed, and lay down with a sigh. She was too spent to even get changed. She curled up under the blankets, tucking her knees into her chest like a child. She hoped her team would be alright. If anything happened to them, she was sure she would break. She had lost her parents last year, before Naruto had returned from training with Jiraiya. Naruto, Kakashi, and to some extent Sai, had become her family. They fought together, ate together, and trusted each other. She was rarely sad when she was with her boys. They were her world.

She slipped easily into sleep, but the sleep was not pleasant.

She dreamed gruesome dreams where the people she loved were slaughtered before her eyes, crying for help. She could only watch.

"_It's all right Sakura, yeah."_

She woke with a jump, falling out of bed directly onto her medic kit, which crunched.

A chuckle came from other side of the room. He was awake, and laughing at her,

She sat up, thoroughly embarrassed, and shook her head to get rid of the horrible dream, forgetting it at once. He may be an enemy, but right now he needed to be treated as a patient. Since quite a lot of her chakra had returned, she could hopefully fix the remaining problems. "How do you feel?" She asked him, opening the pouch to see what had made the breaking noise. It was the vial of anaesthetics. Shit.

"My chest hurts, yeah, but I can breathe better than before." He demonstrated by taking a deep breath, his bandaged chest rising as he did so. "But what I'd really like to know is who you are and why I'm tied to a bed." He seemed as if he knew what was going on today, so maybe she could ask him some questions. She padded barefoot over to his bed, and sat down to take a look at the chest wound. From the red and yellow discolouration of the bandages it looked like an infection may have set in.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. I'm a medic, so I'll be treating your wounds here until you can travel. The restraints are to stop you from escaping or killing me in my sleep. " She told him as she pulled off the surgical tape, noting him wince a little as it pulled out some chest hairs as well, not that he had very many; his chest was very smooth, apart from the obvious semi-healed abrasion over his heart.

"I'm Deidara, yeah. Why you think I'd kill you in your sleep? A bit paranoid aren't you, hm?" He gave the flimsy-looking restraints a tug, wincing at the jarring motion it gave his broken ribs.

"They're chakra enforced, so don't waste your time." She told him as she pulled out some fresh dressings. "You're Akatsuki, isn't it just common sense? It's what you do isn't it? You kill innocent people." She shouldn't be baiting him, she knew she'd be the one that ended up getting angry. She needed to remain clam and detached.

She looked at the slight discolouration around the scabbed area, it could definitely cause problems later. She was so focused that she missed the amused smirk that briefly crossed his features.

"Does this hurt?" She asked, pressing down a few inches below the wound on his lower ribs.

He made a noise in the back of his throat. "It tickles." He told her.

She pressed a little higher, her fingers sinking slowly into the slightly swollen flesh.

"Hurts." He said grunting a little at the pain. It looked like a mild infection. She closed her eyes and summoned her healing chakra. She used it to first expel what infection she could, then pull the skin together and repair the cells. She could feel him tense slightly; she knew this technique was very itchy, and smiled at the thought that he was pretending it didn't bother him.

She decided to heal his ribs this time. Since he would be conscious from now on, she doubted he would let her carry him, which she didn't particularly want to do anyway. He would need them fixed to travel at a good pace. She kept in mind however, that he was definitely dangerous now that she could no longer keep him sedated. Even though he was wearing the bracelet, he could still knock her unconscious and escape. She finished closing the wound and looked at the end result. There wasn't even a trace of a scar. There was simply very touchable looking skin. He looked down at his chest, as if something was different.

"I'm going to take a shower." She got up to leave, taking one of the inn's towels and a change of clothes with her.

"Wait, yeah." She paused halfway to the door and turned to look at him. His huge blue eyes seemed more than a little concerned. "Why are you helping me?"

She frowned, unsure of what to answer. If she told him the truth, he was unlikely to be as easy to deal with, but what else could she tell him? Any lies she made up in order to gain his cooperation were sure to be found out once he realised what direction they were travelling.

She sighed. "I'm not helping you. I'm kidnapping you."

**A/N:** Thankyou to all who reviewed the last chapter!


	3. Bargain

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

Some language in here, so don't read if you mind the F-word! And more angst.

"_I'm not helping you, I'm kidnapping you." _She had said. What the fuck? Nobody kidnapped Akatsuki, especially not him! He was the fucking bomber and was feared by everybody, yeah! Deidara yanked his ties sharply. Who the fuck did she think she was, tying him up like this? He really disliked being tied up. That's why he always had a plan for times like these. Just because they were chakra enforced did not mean that they couldn't be untied.

He began to twist the long tongues on his hands into the ties on his wrists. The bitch had underestimated him severely; he fumed as he felt them loosen, the delicate manipulating motions he had trained his tongues and teeth to be capable of paying off. It was rare that anyone ever got close enough to tie him up, but when they did, it never stayed that way.

He rubbed his wrists, and felt something he hadn't noticed before. It was a pink metal bangle which had moulded itself exactly to fit his wrist. When had that gotten there? He focused on it intently; it was humming slightly with some chakra. The same chakra he had felt this morning when she was healing him. He definitely had some questions for the pink haired medic.

After looking around the room for some sort of weapon, he found a small shard of broken glass near her bed. She was going to get a nasty surprise when she returned.

Sakura turned the creaky faucet of the old fashioned shower, enjoying her first shower in days. The hot water was the perfect temperature, relaxing her sore muscles and draining away her tension. She used the flower-scented body wash the innkeeper must have put there to clean away the grime from the past few days' travelling. The water actually turned brown from Deidara's dried blood and the dirt from the forest. Using more of the inn's flowery products, she shampooed and conditioned her hair.

She thought about Deidara as she rinsed it out, wondering how someone so young could be in the Akatsuki. From what she had seen of the Akatsuki you had to be good, very good- not in the moral sense of course, remembering the once human puppets who were killed and exploited by Sasori. She also thought of the Uchiha clan, even children slaughtered while they dreamed. No, the Akatsuki surely didn't have any morals.

She turned the water off, and stepped out, using the fluffy white towel to dry herself. She put on her spare outfit and washed her other set in the sink with the liquid soap. She always liked to have a spare set of clean clothes with her. While she was thinking about clothes, she realised that Deidara didn't have any with him, and all he had on when she found him was a pair of singed trousers and his boots. She sighed. She was going to have to buy him some.

She trotted down the wooden stairs, making a hollow tap with each step, and found the innkeeper at the desk.

"Excuse me, I was wondering if you have any men's clothes I could buy for my-" She paused. It's not like she could come out and say hostage. Innkeepers were not always the tightest lipped of people, and she really didn't need bounty hunters on her case as well. "For my companion."

Both Deidara and herself had high bounties on their heads, though his a lot higher. Since she was no longer in Konoha, right now she was fair game for all the missing-nin- turned-hunters in the area.

Sakura set off back upstairs, somehow having acquired a full black outfit, including a travelling cloak and even a toothbrush for the furious blonde upstairs. The kind old woman had also agreed to bring a big breakfast up in half an hour. She was definitely glad that Tsunade had for once not been frugal with the mission budget.

She entered the room awkwardly, having difficulty with the door knob, looking over her pile of clothes. She was not anticipating that she would be slammed up against the wall by her throat the second she shut the door.

His hand was so tight around her neck; she couldn't breathe, and she could feel her face turning purple. She dropped everything she was holding and grabbed his wrist with both hands, intending to use her chakra to break it. She started to summon her chakra to her muscles.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He told her forebodingly, pressing the shard of glass from the anaesthetics vial against her jugular. "You're going to give me some answers, yeah." He released her neck enough for her to breathe, but kept the shard of glass in place, so she knew he could still kill her at any time. She was terrified. She had not expected this. "Where were you trying to take me, hm? And under whose orders?"

She replied quietly, her hands trembling around his strong wrist. "I'm taking you to Konoha. It was my own decision." He roughly shoved her again; making her head hit the wall behind her. She made a pained noise as she saw stars.

"Your own decision? Why would you risk taking an Akatsuki all that way on your own? Do you even know who I am, hm?" He couldn't believe the audacity of this girl, for her to think a medical ninja, of all things, could capture him.

"We've met before actually." She gritted her teeth. Now wouldn't be the best time to tell him that. Why had she said it? Panic? No. She knew why. She hated being underestimated, and he was bruising her slightly immature ego.

His gaze turned from confident and threatening to confused in a second. He really was blonde, she thought.

"In the Akatsuki base where you extracted the bijuu from Gaara. Remember? I helped kill your partner." She coughed a little, finding the hold on her throat uncomfortable. The jarring motion cut her throat on the piece glass he was holding. The blood tickled as it dribbled down her collarbone.

"Shit... You... You're the one who destroyed the base..." Deidara's expression became unreadable for a moment, before it hardened once again into his interrogating face. "Then what the fuck is this?" He demanded to know, releasing his left hand that was holding the glass shard to show her the bracelet.

The instant she saw the opening, she quickly summoned her chakra into her hands, using them to hit his choking grasp away, hearing a small crack and a grunt of pain, she pushed herself forward off the wall with her feet for momentum and tackled him gracefully. She landed atop him, and quickly flipped a kunai against his neck. His eyes were wide, but it didn't look like he was afraid, more like he was surprised, and just a little curious. Then he grinned a boyish, cute grin. For that second he really did remind her of Naruto. That was before she realised that his hands were on her lower thigh, just below her shorts. She blushed as she felt a tongue lick her, and glared furiously while pressing a little with her kunai as a warning.

He looked at her innocently. "I can't help it. I only have complete control of them when I feel I'm in a life threatening situation, yeah, they must be doing it on their own." He shrugged. Was he trying to annoy her? Of course he was in a life threatening situation, she was on top of him with a kunai at his neck for God's sake!

Perhaps he really did thinkthat she wasn't prepared to kill him, because he began to tense for attack once again.

"Don't move prick. You _are_ in a life threatening situation. If you kill me you'll die too. That bind is filled with liquid cyanide, and the only thing keeping it from opening into your blood stream is my flow of chakra. If it stops, you die. If you escape, I'll stop my chakra myself. If you're good, then I'll take it off when we get to Konoha." She was breathing hard as she told him the brute facts, the kunai still pressed against his neck.

The predatory grin disappeared from his face, replaced by an expression that almost made her pity him; the angry, sad blue eyes looked up at her as if they couldn't believe something like this was happening to him. It was like caging a wild animal.

"That's low, yeah."

He may not be tied up physically, but he was no longer free. The only thing that really bothered him, more than his arms being ripped off, or being called a girl, was being unable to do what he liked.

Sakura suddenly felt very odd as she noticed his eyes growing bigger and bigger, then the floor around his head began to ripple like water. Something wasn't right. Her eyes widened in horror. The glass he had used to threaten her with must have been from her med kit. He had inadvertently anaesthetised her.

He looked up at her in confusion as she could no longer maintain her grip on the kunai, and let it fall to the side with a clunk. She put her shaking hands on his chest as she tried to burn off the effects with her medical jutsu, but it had been in her system for too long and she couldn't make her chakra work right. Her head fell onto his warm body as she lost the ability to sit up.

"What are you up to, hm?" His voice sounded very distant and she couldn't tell which direction it was coming from, or which direction was up for that matter.

"Drugged." She managed to get out, before for the second time in as many days, she was unconscious on his chest. Only this time, he was awake and she was the vulnerable one.

When she came to, the foggy feeling ebbing away gradually as she tried to move her arms, she realised she was lying on her bed. But didn't she pass out on the floor? No, on someone... On Deidara?! Then why was she on her bed? Pulling herself hastily upright with a blush, she found herself alone in the room. Shit. From light coming from the window, she'd say it was around one in the afternoon. That had been a long sleep.

She panicked. She didn't actually know how to stop her chakra from flowing. She had been bluffing. Maybe he'd figured out she was lying, and was halfway back to the Akatsuki. Well at least he hadn't raped her from what she could tell. That was nice of him.

The door opened, and Deidara came in towelling his long hair, as though he had never thought him being gone might panic her. He wasn't wearing a shirt, so she could see his muscles flexing gently as he shut the door. She hid her blush under her glare.

"Oh. You're awake." He said looking at her with a smirk. "What's that face for, hm? You look annoyed. It's not my fault you don't clean up your medical supplies, yeah." He stopped drying his hair even though it still hung damply over his bare shoulders. He sat down at the small table by the window and picked up a pair of chopsticks, tucking in to what looked like tempura and rice. How long had it been since she had last eaten? It must have been at least two days.

"Whatever." She said crossly and walked over to the table to join him. "How long was I out for?" She asked, shoving a piece of prawn tempura in her mouth hungrily.

He finished his mouthful before answering. "Around three hours. The old lady came with breakfast straight after you collapsed on me, and she offered to bring up lunch too." He returned to eating cheerfully, almost like a different person from earlier. He had to be planning something, she thought, until he spilled his tea on himself.

Sakura felt very awkward. The last thing she remembered before being drugged was threatening each other with sharp objects, and a lot of swearing, yet here they were, eating lunch like civilised people. She remembered what she had bought from the innkeeper. He was still wearing the singed trousers, so he probably hadn't found them.

"Um... I got you clothes and a toothbrush, over there by the door." She pointed to the black pile vaguely. She wondered if he had to brush the teeth in his hands.

He gave a noise of thanks, and she supposed she was lucky to get that much. He didn't seem like the most polite of people. She noticed he was having trouble using his right hand, as he spilled his tea for the second time. She couldn't help but smile a little. It was pleasantly refreshing to see an Akatsuki being clumsy. When she had met both Itachi and Sasori, she had been stuck by their grace and poise while they fought. Deidara seemed much more human somehow.

"Let me see." She asked once they had finished the food, indicating towards the slightly swollen arm. He moved it towards her slowly, with a faintly surprised expression. After all, it was her who had done the damage in the first place, when she broke his hold on her neck earlier.

She pressed her soothing chakra into his arm, and was stunned when she realised he had a very painful looking fracture on his radius, distorting it out of shape and messing up the veins around it. It was impressive he had been able to move it at all, let alone eat breakfast cheerfully.

She used her chakra to first dull the pain receptors in his nerves, and then move the veins out of the way. Then she pushed the bone back into place using her hands. Once they were in position, she began to knit the bone marrow together, followed by the bone itself.

Deidara watched her with amazement. He hadn't been able to see properly when she'd healed him before, and he wished he'd had the opportunity now that he could see how strangely beautiful her chakra looked. It flickered between multitudes of pure green colours, with shades of neon, to the deepest colour that he had only seen once, as he flew over the endless fathoms of Fukamizu, just outside Iwagakure. He was sad when her chakra stopped glowing, he had enjoyed watching it. He noticed that she had dulled his pain while she healed him, which was unexpected. He thought she might be one of those sadistic-type nurses who push the needle in further than it needs to go, considering her reputation.

She bent his arm backwards and forwards, listening to the joints. Apparently hearing nothing wrong with his arm, she withdrew her chakra completely.

"How does it feel? It was a pretty nasty fracture." She asked him, prodding at the area carefully before letting go.

He flexed his arm, looking impressed.

"It feels good, yeah." He looked at her with an expression she didn't quite understand. It almost looked like respect. "So do you have a plan, or are you just making this up as you go along?" He checked the ends of his hair, probably for split ends, before looking up at her with a teasing smirk. "I'm guessing it's the latter."

She was about to retort when she felt some strong chakra signatures approaching, and fast. She put her hands together and reached out to sense further. There were four signatures, two chuunin and two jounin level ninja. Luckily, she was good at sensing chakra, so they probably hadn't sensed hers yet. She performed the hand seals and quickly masked her chakra. She couldn't sense Deidara's chakra; it seemed the chakra bind hid chakra as well.

"So we have company, hm?" Deidara asked, standing up, and pulling out a kunai from a trouser pocket. She knew it was hers from the binding around the base; she always used blue so she could tell which were hers when she trained with her team.

"Since when did- never mind." She resigned herself to the fact that it was not a typical kidnapping. He could keep it for now. "We have four strong ninja approaching straight towards us quickly. Do you think they could know that we're here?" She wasn't sure why she was asking him, he'd probably just lie anyway.

He shrugged. "There are a lot of people after me. We're not too far away from Iwa, so I wouldn't be surprised if hunter nins have come to search the area to recover what's left of my body, yeah. My jutsu's pretty distinctive."

"Then why are they in this village? The explosion site is a mile and a half away. Surely they don't think you survived?" She was a little worried now. She knew she was strong, but to take on four high level ninja at once and deal with a hostage; it was pushing it. She hoped they went undetected.

"Iwa ninja are good trackers, especially the hunters. I wouldn't be surprised if they were counting on it. They are from the same village as me after all." Deidara dextrously twirled the kunai round his fingers, staring at the door as if expecting the hunters to burst in any second. "If it's who I think it is, we're in trouble." He warned, not taking his eyes off the door. "And if you die before taking this thing off I'll be fucking pissed, yeah." He shook the deadly chakra bind at her crossly.

Sakura stiffened as she felt the ninja enter the building. "They're here."

**A/N: **Thank you to those of you who reviewed so far! I want more!! Please be nice and review my cute cute readers whom I adore very much. I worked so hard on this, don't I deserve them? ***big wobbly eyes***

Iwagakure- Stone Village

Fukamizu- Deep water


	4. Fugitives

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* * *

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

_Sakura stiffened as she felt the ninja enter the building. "They're here."_

"Stop playing with my kunai and get dressed. We're going to run." She hurried to stuff her things into her pack, throwing on her cloak. While Deidara was pulling on his new clothes, she edged towards the door and performed the hand seals for a nifty trick Tsunade had taught her. She used her chakra to enhance her hearing and pressed her ear against the wood.

"Yes, long blonde hair, dangerous looking." Said a frustrated male voice. "We've been looking for this guy for years. We've got men in all the villages looking for him. Caused a big explosion nearby."

"Goodness is that so?" The innkeeper's voice replied. "I'm usually very careful about customer privacy, but since the Iwa officials are involved... I think they're in room one-oh-nine, in the block of rooms across the courtyard. Good luck."

But that wasn't their room. In fact, that room was at the opposite side of the large inn. Was the innkeeper on their side? It seemed that the innkeeper must have guessed that she was escorting him to Konoha. She stopped her jutsu as she sensed Deidara was ready.

"Let's go, yeah." Said Deidara, now dressed in black with a pale cloak similar to hers. They were going to have to be stealthy. The windows were not the type that opened, and breaking them would cause a disturbance, alerting the hunter-nin of their location. They would have to use the front door.

The hunters' chakra had moved from the building they were in, so they moved at a normal pace to the lobby, not too fast as to be suspicious, in case there were any extra skilled chakra experts in the group. Sakura had wanted to thank the innkeeper anyway, so she was partly glad they couldn't use the window. She had done them a huge favour.

They descended the stairs together slowly, keeping their eyes keen for any movement. The innkeeper was smiling at the desk, looking extremely cheerful.

"I'm very grateful for your help. How did you know?" Sakura asked rushing over, bemused as the kind woman handed her a bag of what looked like travelling supplies.

"I can always tell with young love." The innkeeper smiled at them. "It warms my heart to see two young lovers on an adventure." Deidara chuckled and Sakura blushed, but she decided not to correct her. If it made her happy, and helped them get away, then she wouldn't complain. She put down a good sum of money for their stay, before muttering more thanks. The woman smiled and spoke once again "The man said that they have men ready to ambush, but only on the direct routes. You should be safe if you stick to heavily wooded areas." Sakura nodded and turned to leave with Deidara at her side, still sniggering a little.

* * *

They were out of the door and into the forest, leaping from one branch to the next with the agility only ninjas possessed. Fleeing from the enemy wasn't Sakura's style, but if what the man in the inn had said was true, then things would be difficult if they confronted them head on. Even with this avoidance tactic they would still face problems. They wouldn't be able to stop at any of the villages for miles and miles, and what's more, they would have to take the long way round. This meant that their journey would take at least four days now instead of the original two if they had been able to cut through the populated areas.

They travelled at a medium pace through the towering trees, sticking to the higher branches to avoid leaving a trail as much as possible. They couldn't travel as fast as she would have liked, as Deidara couldn't access his chakra and seemed to be sticking to this pace, and she wasn't going to take off the bind anytime soon. She knew he was stronger than her with her chakra, even without his clay; she couldn't afford to risk it.

She definitely couldn't let him fall into Iwa's hands. Legally, she should hand him over, as Iwa had more right to him than Konoha. Morally however, she wanted to bring him home. He was a means by which she could return Team Seven to its former glory. She was certain that Iwa wouldn't share information with Konoha. She wasn't even sure if they'd bother to interrogate him; they may just kill him straight off if they got hold of him. Also, Konoha needed the information Deidara had. With it, they may be able to protect Naruto from them, and maybe even bring Sasuke back.

Deidara began to speed up noticeably, making Sakura look at him sideways. He had a slightly confused expression on his face as he seemed to notice how fast he was going.

"Is something wrong?" She called over, using her chakra to keep pace with him.

She was surprised he could go this fast, she was having trouble keeping up, even though she was using her chakra. Although at a strategic advantage, long distance fighters were normally weak concerning the more physical demands of being a ninja, such as taijutsu and travelling. From what Kakashi had told her, Deidara's style especially involved the least physical activity of any other fighting style she had seen or heard of.

"No. I just thought of something, yeah." He slowed down a little, with a smile on his face. Sakura blanched. Why did he look so happy? Here they were, fleeing the enemy in an undignified manner and he was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

They continued travelling, sticking to the forests where it would be harder to track them. Their pace began to slow after around four hours of solid travelling in silence.

The sun was setting as Sakura finally signalled a break, setting down their packs in a small clearing. Deidara sighed and slumped against a tall oak tree looking tired. It seemed he wasn't used to travelling long distances on foot after all. She did the same, enjoying the feeling of her muscles resting as she sat down on the forest floor, her back pressed against firm wood. She pulled a water canteen out of her pack and took a long drink from it, enjoying the coolness. She tried to pass it to Deidara, who appeared to be in the middle of a Shikamaru-style daydream, staring at the sky with a slight smile on his face.

"Deidara." She poked him out of his daydream, almost laughing out loud when he jumped, looking around at her with surprised eyes.

"What is it kitten, hm?"

Her eyebrow twitched at the nickname, but she decided not to give him the satisfaction of reacting.

"Water. You should drink." She passed it to him again, and watched as he gulped some down, the muscles on his neck moving as he drank. He passed it back to her when her had finished, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I need to ask you something, yeah." He looked straight at her, leaning in a little closer than she was comfortable with. "Did you do something weird to me back then, when you found me?"

Her eyes widened. He knew she fell asleep on him? She was sure he'd passed out before her. The fact that he knew about one of the times was bad enough.

"Why does it matter? I healed you didn't I?" She turned away from him so he couldn't see her blush at the prospect of being further humiliated.

"You did heal me didn't you hm? I haven't felt this good in at least four years. I should be more specific. Did you do something to my chest?" His intense gaze hadn't wavered for a second. As his eyes caught hers, and held them like a snake ensnaring a rabbit. "There was something there before that isn't there now. What happened?"

He seemed deadly serious. Sakura didn't see any point in not telling him if it would make him angry and difficult to deal with. Now that he was fully healed he could easily overpower her, and she wasn't sure the threat of death by bracelet was very effective. He did blow himself up after all.

"You had a hole in your chest shaped as if a very large round tumour or something of similar nature had been there, and suddenly disappeared, or shot out of your chest." She frowned before she continued. "It seemed like it had caused your left lung to collapse, and your heart to be smaller and in the wrong place. I made everything like it should be."

"So, my body is normal now? My chest will work?" He seemed as if he doubted what she was saying.

"Yes. There's nothing wrong with it." Sakura had been itching to ask him about what had caused the strange hollow in his chest, but she was a little hesitant to ask. She still found it very strange talking to him. He was _Akatsuki_. He was part of the group that was trying to kill Naruto and others like him. The group was the biggest threat to Konoha at the moment.

But he was so human. He spilled tea on himself for Christ's sake, twice! She bit her lip. Keeping this image in her mind, she gave an inner "_Shannaro!"_ and took a deep breath.

"How did you get that wound?" She nodded towards where the hole had been.

"What will you give me if I tell you, hmm?" He smirked, knowing she was dying to know, and exploiting it just because he could. "Will you let me go?"

"You know I won't" She replied, trying to stare him down.

"In that case," He leaned towards her ear. "How about you give me your body?" She felt the words against her neck, and they made her shiver, before she realised just how lecherous he was being. She shoved him backwards with bright pink cheeks, muttering furiously, before she realised he was laughing at her. He had been playing with her, testing her reactions, which seemed to amuse him plenty.

"You bastard." She growled out, a vein popping in her forehead when her insult just made him laugh harder. "Are you trying to pick a fight?"

"Is than an invitation, hmm?" He stood up, looking at her with challenge in his eyes. "I'd like to try some taijutsu now you've sorted my chest out, yeah."

Sakura was never one to back out of a challenge, and stood up to meet it, looking up at him with determination, trying not to feel intimidated by his much taller stature. He smiled at her, and she was surprised at how genuine the smile was. She fought the urge to smile back, and put on her efficient face. She really wanted to know.

"If I win you'll tell me how you got that wound. What do you get if you win?" It was only fair since it was a wager, she thought.

"I want a hair tie." He told her with a straight face. She couldn't hold her smile back any longer and actually burst out laughing as she imagined him doing his hair. He raised an eyebrow at her antics. "And I want you to put my hair up. It's annoying me, un." She stopped laughing. He wanted her to do his hair.

But that was just...

"Chicken?" He provoked, smirking at her from behind his long, loose hair.

Sakura was not a chicken. She was the Hokage's apprentice, and she could pack a really, really good punch. She slipped into her graceful fighting stance. Fine, then she just wouldn't lose. She had been humiliated enough on his account; being found with him by her team, being licked, falling unconscious on him again and finally, being thought of as his girlfriend?! She would avenge her dignity.

"The first one to get pinned loses. Just taijutsu." Sakura clenched her fists in anticipation; it had been a while since she had used just taijutsu. She grinned at the thought of smashing his arrogant face into the dirt, payback for the humiliating events of the past twenty-four hours.

He nodded, before dashing towards her suddenly, his leg sweeping under hers to knock it from under her. He was faster than she had anticipated. She jumped backwards, barely dodging the attack. His low attack was quickly followed by a high one, and she crossed her arms over her head in a block. When it connected she grabbed his leg and twisted, meaning to throw his balance off, but his body didn't resist her movements, instead following them in an elegant cartwheel. The way he fought reminded her of Sasuke; very agile and catlike with a sense of mocking superiority.

She dodged a punch before giving him one of her own, only to have it blocked by his strong arms. She saw the kick too late, and it connected with her left shoulder, making her stumble to the side ungracefully. The corners of his mouth curled up with amusement.

Not to be discouraged by his landing the first hit, she charged at him with her fists ready. She feinted to the left, and attacked his right ferociously, landing a sharp blow on his lower jaw, his block coming up too slow. He didn't stop to nurse his wound though, he grabbed the arm that was still retreating from the punch, and used it to flip her onto her back. She gasped as she was pinned beneath him in one swift motion, his hair tickling her neck as he leaned over her, her hands pinned above her head with one of his larger ones.

"I win, yeah." He informed her, seemingly unaffected by the position they were in. Sakura, however, was very aware. She panicked a little as she tried to scoot out from under him, but only succeeded in wriggling and squeezing his waist with her thighs. Why had Kakashi never taught her to get out of this kind of hold before? The old pervert was probably worried about his "reputation".

"Let me go!" She wriggled some more, though that only seemed to amuse him further.

"Say please." He teased, seeming to relish the power he had over her.

Sakura would definitely would not say please. She reached up with her neck, and grasped a thick strand of his long pretty hair in her mouth, ready to bite it off.

"Lut mwe go." She muffled, looking deadly serious as she glared death at him.

Deidara had never seen anyone do that before, and looked at her bemused for a second, before rolling off her in fits of laughter. She had actually threatened to... No it was too weird.

She sat up, lamenting her dignity once again. She straightened her red shirt crossly, the way a cat washes itself when it has just fallen off something with people watching. They should set up camp soon, it was getting dark quickly.

"Let me look at your jaw." She instructed, shuffling closer to him. She had knocked him pretty hard. He leaned towards her, allowing her easy access to the bruising area. She summoned healing chakra and put her right hand on his cheek. Using her chakra to see the damage, she found some bad bruising, but no fractures. She used her chakra to sooth away the injury. His skin was very smooth, she noticed, as her chakra faded away. She could feel a little stubble, but it was very nice skin. Soft, she mused.

"Ahem." Deidara coughed slightly. "I know I'm pretty, but I'm getting hungry... yeah."

Furious with herself, not meeting his eyes, she pulled away and turned around, beginning to unpack the supplies the innkeeper had given them. She was being ridiculous. She knew she was just zoning out because she was tired, but he was making her feel like she was perving on him!

There were rice balls, some dried fish, and some pickled vegetables. They wouldn't last long, they would need to get supplies from a village sometime in the next couple of days. They needed to be extremely cautious with the Iwa hunter-nin skulking around.

She shoved some food in Deidara's direction, still refusing to look at him. She felt him take it, and began to eat her own share. The innkeeper was a very good cook; the rice was the perfect texture, and the filling was delicious. She smiled happily as she munched, her embarrassment forgotten.

Once they had finished eating, Sakura laid four chakra seals in each direction, about fifty feet from where they were camping. This way, if any enemies came near, they would activate and wake her. This way they could both get some sleep.

Deidara was already hunched up against the tree when she returned, almost asleep by the looks of it. He really wasn't used to long-distance travelling, she decided. His eyes opened as slits as he looked at her suspiciously.

"It's you." He said sleepily, before his eyes slipped shut again. "You promised to do my hair, kitten." He mumbled.

She couldn't help but smile a little. She always enjoyed it when people were sleepy. On previous missions, she had often heard Neji mumble things along the lines of: "No, stop it Lee, it looks better on you..." or "That tickles Gai-sensei..."

She curled up on the soft grass, her pack as her pillow and her cloak over her. She looked up at the stars, and was reminded of a time when she used to do this with her old team. When she was naive and happy. When they had Sasuke...

* * *

"_Sakura..." a croaking voice called out in the dark. "Sakura-chan, it hurts..." That voice... It was Naruto._

"_Naruto! Where are you?" She called into the blackness. She couldn't even see her own hand as she reached forward to find her way. _

"_Sakura-chan, help me..." His voice sounded close. She moved forward faster, and bumped into something wet, warm and sticky. _

_Suddenly, she could see, and instantly wished she couldn't. Kakashi, Sai, and Naruto were all disembowelled. Naruto had been trying to limp towards her, from what she could tell. Some of his intestines were dragging along the floor, making a sloppy sound as she tried not to scream. Naruto collapsed with a wet slop, slipping in his own blood. Sakura couldn't hold back her screams any more._

"_Sakura..."_

"Sakura!" A familiar voice interrupted her nightmare. She felt a hand on her mouth, and struggled wildly, still screaming. Deidara's face loomed over her, concerned eyes pleading with hers.

"Sakura, stop screaming, yeah." She stopped, and felt the hand removed from her mouth. She realised where she was, and that it had just been a nightmare.

Without thinking, she thrust herself face-first at his chest, sobbing wildly, not caring who he was or if he didn't particularly want a sobbing girl on him. She gripped the material of his cloak tightly, pulling on it, needing to anchor herself to something to prove that the nightmare was gone.

Deidara had never been confronted with a situation like this before. He never had much to do with girls, period, let alone crying, hysterical ones. He patted her back awkwardly. She stiffened, seeming to realise fully what she was doing, and who with. She pulled away, wiping at her face, her eyes all puffy.

"I'm sorry." She said quickly, instantly composed, just a small wobbling of her lower lip giving her away. "I didn't mean to..." She wasn't sure what she'd been doing, but she knew that once again he had seen her at one of her lows. She pushed herself away from him, sitting back on her ankles.

"Thank you for waking me up." She said, not sure what else to say. She didn't know why he had woken her up, but she was definitely grateful.

He looked a little taken aback. Perhaps he was unused to thanks. "You were making a lot of noise, yeah." He said quietly. The moon was behind him, so she couldn't see his expression, just a silvery outline of his body.

"Oh." She had also endangered their safety. There were hunter-nins looking for them, and she nearly got them caught because of a bad dream? She sighed, a little disgusted at her own weakness. "In that case, I'm going to keep watch. I might have let the hunters know our location if there are any nearby." She doubted she would have been able to sleep anyway, not after _that_. "Get some sleep; we have a long day tomorrow." She told him, still feeling uneasy that he had seen her like that.

"Hn." He replied, returning to his previous position by the tree and lying back down with a sigh.

She stared up at the sky, the first signs of dawn tinting the clouds behind the leaves above her pink. No, she definitely wouldn't sleep tonight.


	5. Rage

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

"Nothing is esteemed a miracle, if it ever happens in the common course of nature."- David Hume.

_She stared up at the sky, the first signs of dawn tinting the clouds behind the leaves above her pink. No, she definitely wouldn't sleep tonight._

Sakura watched the sunrise meditatively, her knees pulled against her chest. It was a crisp morning, her breath frosting a little in the cold air. It may be early summer, but the mornings were just like winter this far north.

She thought about her team, wondering if they had found Sasuke. Were they okay? She couldn't help but worry sometimes, and the dreams didn't help. Last night's dream wasn't the first of that kind to invade her mind, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last, but it had certainly been the most graphic one to date. There had never been intestines before. She shuddered at the unpleasant memory.

Deidara shuffled in his sleep, making little snuffling noises into his cloak, which was partially covering his face. She preferred him when he was asleep, she decided with a small smile on her lips.

With the morning came the rainclouds, approaching slowly but steadily with the cold breeze that ruffled her hair and made her shiver a little within her cloak. Sakura loved the rain, but only from behind the protection of a window, where she could listen to the soothing sound without getting rained on.

"Deidara, we should get going." She called over to the sleeping man, still looking apprehensively at the sky. They were going to get wet.

He seemed to have been nearing wakefulness anyway, as he was up and stretching like a cat in seconds. He squinted at the oncoming clouds. The dark grey mass flickered with lightning in the distance, promising a storm.

"Looks like rain, yeah..." He was facing towards her, but looking up at the sky. When the sound of thunder reached them, he smiled. He seemed to like the idea of a thunderstorm. A flash of far away lightning reflected of his face, making his eyes sparkle.

"We need to go." She stood up, pulling her cloak around her shoulders once more. "We can cut nearer to the villages now, since the storm will work in our favour."

"That's true, yeah, but one thing first." He pointed to his hair. "We had a deal."

Sakura froze. She had forgotten about that. She wished she hadn't let him rile her up, and make a bet she really, really didn't want to do. She sighed, and walked over to him. He turned round, grinning like a kid.

"You're too tall." She told him, hoping he wouldn't want to sit down, and she could walk away with her ego unscathed. He sat down. Crossly, she ran her fingers through his hair, tugging a little in revenge. It was extremely soft, she noticed.

She worked out the knots with her hands, surprised to find that she actually enjoyed the feel of his long pretty hair between her fingers. What style would he want, she mused, thinking back to the time in the cave. He had worn an odd ponytail of some sorts. It hadn't suited him. She decided to give him just a normal ponytail at the back of his head, combing it back with her fingers and fastening it with her hair tie.

He turned around, and she was struck by how attractive he was, now that you could see his masculine jaw line. Before, he had looked too feminine for her tastes, but now, if he had been anyone else, she would have drooled.

She was well aware that they should take the opportunity of being less traceable to make as much progress as they could. Also, she wasn't sure being alone with him for much longer would be a good idea. She still didn't know how to feel about last night, the embarrassment and confusion still vivid in her memory. He had tried to comfort her, in his own unexpectedly awkward way. Why on earth had he done that? She couldn't think of anything he could gain from it.

The metal clip on her cloak wouldn't clip shut properly, and fell to the ground as she fumbled with it. Deidara raised an eyebrow as she bent to pick it up, probably amused at her clumsiness. She managed to fasten it with no problem the second time, glaring at the little clip. Everything seemed to conspire against her when she was with the annoyingly nimble artist.

She slipped the shoulder straps of her pack around her shoulders, and leapt towards the approaching storm. She knew he was following by his light footsteps, a few paces behind her. Despite his infuriating arrogance, she did kind of enjoy his company, which was why she was feeling so unsettled. She needed to remember who they were, and that they were not friends.

They hadn't been travelling for long, leaping from one tall branch to another when they hit the storm. Sakura had seen many storms, but this had to be one of the most violent yet.

The warm summer rain pounded with almost painful force against her face, unprotected by her hood as she drove forwards. The mossy bark of the trees had become slippery like seaweed, making it too dangerous to travel at a fast pace. They were forced to slow down, and Sakura's feet kept on sliding off the branches, and she nearly fell more than once.

"Deidara." She shouted over the sound of thunder, and the roaring sound of the raindrops hitting the leaves above her.

"What is it, hm?" The bastard seemed unaffected, even pleased with their situation, a playful grin on his dripping face.

"Let's travel on the forest floor." She said, hoping he hadn't seen her slipping earlier. "We can go faster."

He didn't say anything, and they began to descend the trees down to the ground. The effect of the rain was less severe due to the shelter of the tall trees, and Sakura could see more clearly. The trees flew past them as they sped through the forest, the only thing remaining constant was the rain and each other's presence.

* * *

Tsunade looked out over Konoha thoughtfully, her gaze spanning the many buildings and the green hills beyond them. Team Kakashi was still searching for Sasuke, but Pakkun had appeared at her window that morning, with a message from Kakashi.

_Dear Esteemed Hokage,_

_Sakura is on her way back to Konoha with Deidara of the Akatsuki. We have gone on ahead. I gave her the chakra bind, so she may not run into problems. He looked very limp._

_Kakashi _

_P.S- It was her idea._

She wanted Sakura to come home. To her, Sakura was worth more than any Akatsuki. She would choose a safe, cheerful Sakura over a little information any day. She didn't even know why Sakura was bothering; this Deidara probably couldn't tell them any more than they already knew.

Tsunade sighed as she crumpled the letter that was clutched in her hand. How could Kakashi just leave her apprentice at the mercy of an Akatsuki? She had faith in Sakura's strength, but Sakura was no S-class nin. She hadn't even made jounin yet. What's more, the Akatsuki she had in custody was a mystery. He was supposed to be dead, and little was known about his past, or his motives.

She was worried.

* * *

The travelling pair had stopped. There was a heavy smell of smoke in the air which was dulled slightly by the fresh rain, but it was imposing none the less. What's more, the smoke smelled like flesh. Sakura couldn't ignore it.

Deidara looked over at Sakura questioningly, wondering if she wanted to check it out. She nodded at him, a hint of anxiousness in the gesture. The village was somewhere outside Sound, but not quite in Lightning, so she didn't know very much about it. What she did know was that villages in unclaimed border land were very dangerous places to live. They were often subject to pillaging and theft, as there was no threat of retribution to any bandits or rogue ninjas. There was no hidden village to take revenge.

They approached the village, slowing down when they could see the smoke, the blurred outlines of houses shimmering in the dark heat, the rain hissing as it hit embers.

Sakura cast out her chakra, hoping to find some civilian signatures. Finding none, she walked towards the village, dread in every step.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? There could still be enemies hanging around, yeah." His hand was on her arm, tugging gently. She jumped at the touch, looking up at him. Their eyes met, her big green ones meeting his deep blue, the rain hitting the soft earth around them. It was an effort for her to look away from his hypnotising gaze.

"It's my duty." She tugged her arm gently, and he let go. She had a nagging hope that maybe; just maybe there might be someone alive. Maybe she couldn't sense their chakra because they were so weak. She entered the village apprehensively, looking around.

The first people she saw were two charred corpses, strung up by their necks from the beams of a decimated house that was still smoking despite the rain. She tried not to look, concentrating hard instead on putting one foot in front of the other, searching for a movement, a sound; something she could do.

The only thing that moved was Deidara, walking by her side. He watched her as the pain on her face flickered into hope, as she seemed to see something, then back into despair at the false alarm. How could someone this expressive be a ninja? He wondered. She seemed so open, so different from anything he knew.

Sakura moved among the skeletal ruins, her tears mixing with the rain as they fell. Children lay in pieces on the soggy ground.

"Sakura..." Deidara began, and found he couldn't speak when she turned to face him. The expression on her face was so heartbreaking, he felt like he needed to do something, _anything_, to make it stop. Her big eyes were wide with trauma, and her pink bottom lip trembled ever so slightly. The rain made her hair cling to her face, the dripping strands hanging in her eyes.

"Let's get out of here."

No sooner had she spoken, and two shuriken came slicing through the air straight towards her. Deidara grabbed her and leapt out of the way, pulling her close as they landed on a branch. It looked as though there were some stragglers; probably hanging behind to rob the first people who came to investigate.

Sakura seemed to come out of her daze, looking around uneasily for the source of the attack as she found herself pressed against a tree with Deidara. She cast out her chakra again.

"There are six." She said quietly. She lifted her hand, shaking slightly. "Two there," she moved her hand and pointed in a different direction. "And four there."

He reached into her equipment pouch, pulling out two exploding tags and three shuriken. She jumped a little as his hand brushed her inner thigh. Whipping out the kunai he had taken before, he dashed off towards the area where four of the enemies were lurking.

She supposed the other two were for her. She shook her head to get rid of her daze. She needed to fight now. She kicked off the branch towards the enemies, charging her fists with chakra as she drew close. It seemed they had seen her coming, as a few sharp objects flew towards her. She dodged them easily, twisting her body round the missiles.

As soon as she could see the men, she realised how angry she was. They had killed those innocent people. They had committed horrible atrocities and she wanted to punish them. She felt the rage bubble up inside of her as the memory of the small limbs in the mud resurfaced.

When she reached them, the men looked terrified. They had expected the travellers to be easy prey, not high class ninjas.

She smashed her chakra-enforced fist into the first one's chest, feeling his sternum crack and cave inwards, crushing his own organs. She punched the second one straight in the face, feeling slightly disgusted as his head was ripped off by the impact, arterial blood still pumping out of his neck, his heart still beating. The murderers had been no match for her.

The anger and despair getting the better of her, she screamed, punching the ground as hard as she could, feeling the ground ripple and break up around her. She looked at her bloody hands with confusion, tears pouring down her face. That was her first kill, and it was not what she had expected.

She was unaware of a pair of beautiful blue eyes watching her through the trees, obscured by the rain, fascinated.

She remained oblivious as he approached slowly. She only looked up when he was right in front of her. She felt herself being pulled into a warm embrace, a contrast to the icy rain still pounding at her. His strong arms held firm against her back, pulling her close and keeping her there, even as she tried to pull away. After a small struggle she gave in and leaned into his warmth, trusting him, just for a second.

"_It's alright Sakura, yeah..."_

* * *

They had found a cave about half a mile from the burned village, and had set up camp there for the night. They had hung their cloaks near the entrance in an attempt to dry them, and keep out the chilling wind.

Sakura was curled up, facing the wall. He couldn't tell if she was awake or not.

Back in that village, he had held her until she had stopped crying, holding her small shaking form in his arms. He had been amazed at how fragile she seemed, just like when she had her nightmare. Other than those times, all he could see was a strong, capable- if not slightly clumsy kunoichi who knew how to handle herself.

When he had seen her kill those men, he had been entranced by her fighting style; the way her fists seemed to almost make explosions as she touched the men. She had been beautiful, even though she was covered in blood- no especially because she was covered in blood. It suited her.

He looked over at her small body, trying to decide on her age. Right now, she looked about twelve, he decided. But before, when she had been healing him, he had thought she was around his age despite her small stature. She had just seemed so efficient and confident. Also, when she had pinned him at the inn, he was sure she was at least eighteen. Now however, he wasn't sure.

He noticed her shaking violently, though he couldn't tell if she was crying or shivering from the cold. He leaned over her, trying to see her face. There were tears leaking from her closed eyes. She seemed to be asleep. He touched her bare shoulder with his fingertips, checking her temperature. Her skin was ice-cold. A resigned sigh escaped his lips; if she really was as young as she looked right now, he thought, then she was going to think he was a paedophile. He lay down next to her and curled is body around her smaller one, quelling her shivering with his body heat.

If she got pneumonia and died, he'd be in trouble, he justified to himself.

Her head was under his chin, and her damp hair was soft on his neck. She smelled like flowers and rain, with just a trace of blood. Her shivering was beginning to subside, but he didn't feel like letting go; he was so comfortable. One of his hands unconsciously traced her upper arm, feeling the goose bumps gradually becoming smooth. She sighed in her sleep and snuggled into him.

He smiled at her, unused to anybody treating him with anything other than trepidation or hatred- except for Akatsuki. Even then, he wasn't _friends_ with any of them, they were just there. He remembered the first time he met Sasori, and how he had mocked his art. Things had never gotten any closer than that between them. Tobi, on the other hand, had always been trying to gain his "sempai's" approval. Maybe he should have been kinder to Tobi. It could have been nice to have a friend.

Wait, what was he thinking? He always made a point to not think of the past if he could help it, and definitely not regret anything. However, here he was, reminiscing like an old woman. He grunted and shook his head to get rid of his annoying thoughts, turning his thoughts instead to explosions. Now where could he get some clay? Not that it would matter with the chakra bind. Maybe he could get her to trust him enough to take it off... She shuffled a little, trying to get comfortable. She made a kittenish noise and pawed a little at his chest.

A little pang of guilt came from somewhere he didn't know was there. He shouldn't feel guilty, he told himself. She's the one who kidnapped him. "_But didn't she save your life, hm?"_ A little voice in the back of his mind asked him. Yes, he supposed, but only for her own purposes. He wouldn't feel guilty. He refused to feel guilty. She wrapped her arms around his torso, sighing with what sounded like contentment.

He just hoped he woke up first.

**A/N: **You may have noticed that I changed all his "un's" to "yeah's". I just thought it sounded better.

Sorry for how short the chapter is... It had to end there though!!

As always, I would love to hear from you, you **cute cute readers! **


	6. Static

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

"_A stumble may prevent a fall"- English Proverb_

Sakura felt herself slowly returning to consciousness, feeling warm and comfortable. It sounded like the rain had stopped, and there was light assaulting her closed eyes. She should wake up, she thought, but she felt so secure lying there. She could smell a wonderful smell. She could smell the forest, and something dark and masculine. It was strange and new, yet it reminded her of home. She smiled and scrunched her fists into whatever soft thing she was touching. In reply, she felt arms tighten around her. She stiffened. She didn't remember falling asleep like this.

She opened her eyes, and it seemed her hands were grabbing the front of Deidara's shirt. She felt a hand move up the outside of her thigh, coming dangerously close to her buttocks.

"_Now who's molesting who in their sleep, yeah?" _She mocked silently before attempting to subtly wriggle out of his grasp, finding the tight grip around her small waist very awkward to extract herself from.

She wasn't quite sure why she didn't want to wake him up. If Naruto pulled this crap on her she'd have knocked him unconscious by now. Maybe she was just embarrassed about yesterday. She had pretty much emotionally broken on him and had leaned on him heavily- much more than she had even burdened her own team with. She was surprised he had let her, thinking back on it. What did he have to gain from making her feel better? She finally managed to roll away from him, though not entirely unscathed; his hand-mouth had drooled on her thigh.

Unbeknownst to her, Deidara was smiling smugly, fully awake and taking advantage of the situation. He had been enjoying her mild panic at his "unconscious" advances. He felt the heat of her body disappear, and opened his eye a slit. He saw her face, bathed in the morning sunlight, making her pink hair glow. Her eyes were slightly puffy from sleep, and a light blush adorned her cheeks. She was looking towards the entrance of the cave with a thoughtful expression, and he wondered what she was thinking about.

He also wondered if she knew her panties were visible from this angle.

She stood up and walked over to where her clothes were drying. She gave him a quick glance, to which he instantly feigned sleep at, before she quickly removed her vest and began re-tying her chest bindings.

Deidara felt great relief at what he saw.

"So you're not that young, yeah." He grinned at her horror-stricken face, watching the pink blush turn to a full red face. At first she looked confused; a very innocent look on her features. Then her eyebrows contracted in an evil-looking glare, and Deidara wondered if it had been such a good idea to tease her this early in the morning.

"Deidara..." A vein popped in her temple. He gulped. "You're going to turn around right now, or I won't even bother to use that bracelet to kill you. I'll just pound your head against the wall until your brain comes out."

He obediently complied. No, it hadn't been one of his best thought out plans. He did feel a little guilty at how upset she seemed to be, but the teenage-boy part of him was very content, so it evened out in his books.

"Can I turn around now... yeah?" He asked a little timidly after he stopped hearing the shuffling of fabric.

"I suppose." Came a grumpy reply. He turned round, giving her his best cute look through the strands of hair that hung in front of his eyes. Since last night, seeing her decapitate that man with a punch, he respected her. He didn't want to stay on her bad side for long if he could help it. Also, he'd taken his hair down last night to dry, and he wanted her to do it again. It had been a nice change to have it off his neck and out of his face.

She looked at him, her glare softening once she saw his innocent "pleasehelpmyhair" face. She sighed and walked over to him, kneeling behind him. He felt her delicate hands take his hair, tugging gently at the long strands.

"I still want to know what happened to make your chest like that." She said, her fingers brushing the soft skin on his neck slightly. He leaned into the feeling of her hands in his hair, not used to the feeling of someone taking care of him.

"It's a kekkei-genkai, yeah." He wasn't sure why he was telling her. Maybe it was because he wasn't the type of person who liked to keep things bottled up. Then again, it's not like he went around telling everyone his past. No, only Leader knew about his past, though Sasori had known to some extent. Perhaps it was some special girl-jutsu she was using on his hair to make him so relaxed he'd tell her anything.

"All people in your clan have this condition?" She was surprised a clan with such a debilitating jutsu could sustain its numbers. She massaged his scalp slightly as she pulled more hair back.

"No, I had a very rare mutation of it, yeah. I basically had one extra mouth." He sighed in bliss. "The last person to have the kekkei-genkai that strong was my great grandfather. He didn't live very long, and he took a good chunk out of Iwa as he went, yeah."

"When did it manifest?" She was surprised he was telling her any of this. Maybe he underestimated her and thought it didn't matter if he told her. She frowned as she pulled more soft strands into her hands, working out tangles.

"I first started to notice a concentration of chakra in my chest when I was eleven. When I was twelve, a mouth opened up right over it." His voice was a little strained.

"Before that, my strength had been in taijutsu. I was one of the most talented young shinobi in my village, yeah." He gave a bitter laugh. "That all changed within a year. When they noticed I was having trouble breathing during the harder training, the medics examined me. Once they found out what had manifested, they turned on me.

""A reincarnation of his grandfather" They said. They thought I was going to grow up and destroy the village, like him."

She waited for him to continue, after a few minutes of silence she noticed that she had forgotten about his hair. She was just holding it in her hands, staring at the back of his head. Who would have thought this carefree young man had carried such a stigma from such a young age? Well if you thought about it, it made sense, she thought. Itachi hadn't been the happiest of children, and nor had Zabuza. She returned to playing with his hair, hoping it would encourage him to tell her more.

When the silence continued, she wrapped the tie around his hair neatly, leaving a couple of strands around his face. She doubted he would tell her anything else today, and they were a bit too close for comfort. If Tsunade knew she was playing hairdressers with an Akatsuki she would have her examined in the psychiatric ward.

Deidara seemed to come out of a daydream, and he turned around and looked at her with an unreadable gaze. In that moment, she felt very protective of him. He was more like Naruto than she had first realised.

She watched him as he stood up and walked towards the bright entrance, only his silhouette visible to her now, the sunlight reflecting off his golden hair. Although she knew it was extremely far from the truth, he looked angelic.

He pulled a cloak from its drying spot, and threw it towards her, pulling his own on. She was still a bit shocked from what she had learned. His own village had _turned_ on him. He hadn't even done anything wrong. He shouldered the pack she had given him the day before.

"Oi." His voice stopped her musings, and she knew he was smirking, and although she couldn't see his face, she could picture his arrogant but attractive smile. "Aren't we supposed to be escorting me to Konoha?"

* * *

The weather was a nice change from the previous day, Sakura thought, as she easily leapt across the dry branches. At least they didn't have to travel on the ground.

She felt a lot more optimistic today, though she couldn't think why. She'd just decapitated someone with her bare hands yesterday, and walked through a slaughtered village. Somehow, even though she was sad, she felt as though today would go well. Maybe it was the sunshine, but the world felt like a better place.

Deidara, on the other hand, was very bored. He didn't like travelling, especially in silence. The monotonous jumping, landing, and jumping had grown old quickly. He may be happy to be able to run around again, but that didn't necessarily mean he wanted to do it all the time.

"So how old are you really, hm?" The question was unexpected, and sounded suspiciously like he was teasing her, though his face didn't betray him.

"Fifteen." She replied. She didn't see any reason why she shouldn't tell him. "How about you? You have to be older than you look if you're in Akatsuki." She was very curious, she realised.

"I'm nineteen, yeah, and there's no age limit in Akatsuki..." Deidara replied. "Besides, I've been a member since I was fourteen. Not quite as young as Itachi was, he was only thirteen, yeah."

Sakura was a little shocked. Since he was fourteen? She'd know how young Itachi had been, but that was different. He was an Uchiha, and normal rules didn't apply to Uchihas. Deidara didn't seem like a cold-hearted genius. He seemed like an interesting, volatile person. She could understand him, even if only a little.

"Will you tell me the rest of how you became a missing nin?" She asked, delicacy in her voice. She had no right to ask, but he interested her. He was something very different from the predictable and law-abiding friends she had in Konoha.

"Maybe another time, yeah." He answered, not meeting her gaze, looking instead at the approaching trees. It was the answer she had expected.

The small breeze in the air didn't do much to keep the heat away as they rushed past hundreds of trees. The sun beat down hard on the leaves, making the air around them hot and humid. Sakura caught snatches of sky through the heavy foliage, and it reminded her of the view from the roof of her apartment. She used to sit up there for hours, staring at the sky, thinking that it was the same sky that was looking down on Sasuke.

Where was Sasuke now? Did he miss them? Did she care? She knew she'd always have some sort of tie to him, but thinking on how much he had hurt Naruto and how easily he changed his loyalties, she didn't think she could ever trust him enough to give him her heart again.

"Can you hear that?" His voice brought her out of her mind-wanderings. They came to a halt, resting on the large branch of a pine. She concentrated on the quietness of the forest, and heard the light rushing sound of a river or stream. Her eyes lit up, and she looked at him excitedly.

"It's about time we had a break anyway." She said, already moving towards the sound, hearing him take her lead.

She was so hot. She wasn't sure how many hours they had been travelling in this heat, but a wash in a clean stream sounded good. She still had blood stains on her body from the night before.

When they reached the stream, Sakura gave a little whoop of joy before dropping her pack and reaching down to take off her boots. She heard Deidara make an amused sound before doing the same. For once she wasn't bothered by him laughing at her.

The water looked fresh and cool, shallow enough to see the flat stones at the bottom, but deep enough to reach at least to her waist. She decided to go in with most of her clothes on. They could do with a wash anyway, and it would be less embarrassing. Looking over to her right, Deidara seemed to have fewer inhibitions than her.

He had taken off his shirt, and was bending to roll his trousers up. She had a perfect view of his back from this angle. She hadn't seen his back before. His skin was slightly tanned, and the muscles under the smooth looking skin flexed as he worked on the cuffs of his trousers. She frowned. He wasn't planning on going all the way in, yet he still took off his shirt?

Sakura blushed and looked away, focusing instead on the cool water that awaited her hot and tired body. The pebbles made crunching noises as she padded across them to the water's edge, dipping her foot in the water. It was a lot colder than she'd thought it would be. Deidara joined her at the edge, using his own foot to test the water. He jumped back and glared at the water.

"It's really cold, yeah." He looked so offended, Sakura couldn't help but laugh at him. She was still laughing as she ran straight into the freezing water, splashing some droplets onto his bare skin. When she was knee deep she turned and looked at him, delighted at the furious expression on his face.

"Chicken?" She asked, like he had taunted her before. She received an even more cross stare. "Aren't you coming in Dei-chan?"

She had barely finished the "chan" when she saw a blur and felt herself dragged underwater. She came up spluttering and vengeful. Had he just... Dunked her?

She summoned chakra to her fist, and punched the water as hard as she could in the direction of his smug smirk. The resulting tidal wave was very impressive, towering at twice the height of a person. Deidara, still grinning, nimbly leapt to the side and came at her once more. So he wanted to spar again?

She stopped the chakra flow to her fists; she wanted it to be a fair fight. She pushed his quick punches to the side with her forearms, but she was being pushed deeper into the water. She was going to lose her footing at this rate.

She wedged her foot against a rock, using it to launch herself past Deidara so she was further up the bank than he was. She used quick, jabbing attacks, trying to get past his blocks, but he seemed to have improved these past few days. He was teasing her; no longer attacking, just keeping her off-balance with his annoying blocks.

She used her leg to sweep his feet, and felt very satisfied when he landed with a splash. She wasn't happy for more than half a second before her own legs had been pulled out from under her, and she was underneath his wet, half naked body with her head barely above water.

For a few seconds, she just lay there too shocked at the situation they were in to retaliate. Once she regained her thoughts, she realised her hands were pinned just like before, only this time, she couldn't threaten him with his hair. She'd tied it up for him that morning, and the ends of his neatly tied hair were dripping water onto her neck.

She looked down at their position, and smiled when she realised that all was not lost. She bent her left leg at an angle impossible for most people, slipped it through the gap between them and used it to push him off her. He had underestimated her flexibility, of which she was very proud.

He landed a few feet away, remarkably still on his feet, with an impressed look on his features.

"You didn't tell me you were that bendy, yeah." His gaze travelled down her soaked body. Why did everything that came out of that man's mouth sound so suggestive? It was pissing her off, although she didn't want to read too much into the reason why.

She lunged at him once more, putting all of her natural strength into being as fast as possible so he couldn't react. The foot of water she was dashing across slowed her a little, but her speed training with Tsunade paid off when she managed to clip his jaw, grab the hand that came up to block, and throw him over her shoulder, pinning him in the exact same way he had just pinned her.

She looked him straight in those beautiful blue eyes of his triumphantly.

"Let's see _you_ get out of it, hmm? Dei-chan." She taunted, bringing her face a little closer to his, certain of her victory. His eyes narrowed at the nickname.

"Now why would I want to get of this Kitten, hmm? But since you ask..." His mouth was suddenly on hers, hot and filled with seduction. His lips moved against hers encouragingly, almost tenderly. The world disappeared when her eyes closed, and all she could feel was him.

Sakura felt herself being sat up slowly, feeling his strong arms around her, a warm contrast to the icy water. A hand stroked her wet-clothed body from her waist upwards, making her gasp in surprise. In addition to the soft, enticing lips holding her own captive, she felt his tongue enter to meet hers. All she could do was pull him closer and respond as best as she knew how, her hands splayed across his bare back. When the added sensation of another mouth at her neck appeared, she lost all rational train of thought.

Only when she felt the sharp little teeth at her jugular did she pull away in realisation. He had tricked her.

Where had his hands gone? She could have sworn she was just pinning them vengefully. They were sitting up in...

In _that_ position.

She was straddling his lap, her hands on his chest from where she had finally pushed him away. One of his hands was open-mouthed on her neck.

Sakura blushed pinker than she had ever blushed before.

"I win, yeah." She heard him say. She didn't even want to look at his stupid face. Her first kiss, stolen by Akatsuki's pretty-boy. She got up, avoiding his gaze, fighting back tears.

She grabbed her pack and began walking upstream to bathe where he couldn't see.

"I'll be back soon." She muttered as she walked past him.

Deidara frowned. He hadn't expected her to react like that. He had expected her to try to slap him, releasing her hold on his hands. He didn't understand her, but he understood from the way she kissed, tentatively and unsure, that he shouldn't have kissed her.

Deidara heard a small splash behind him, and smiled as he saw a flash of scales. He was hungry, and the thought of roast fish made him even hungrier.

He saw a cluster of fish over near the other side of the river, and began to wade out towards them, kunai pulled from his trousers. When he was drawing close, the texture under his feet changed from pebbled to soft and slippery. He almost couldn't believe his luck. He dived down, his hands tugging expertly at the floor, pulling away a large chunk before surfacing. A large grin curled the corners of his mouth upwards. He had found some really, really good clay.

* * *

Sakura had taken off her clothes, and was scrubbing them furiously, wondering why she had reacted the way she had. Yes, Deidara was extremely attractive, and interesting, but he was also a smug bastard with hair like Ino's. He was Akatsuki, she couldn't forget that. If she could just put it all down to hormones, then everything would be fine.

She didn't want Sasuke to have her first kiss anymore, anyway. She was coming to realise that even an S-class nin treated her with more respect than he ever did. If Deidara could travel with her, spar with her, and see her at some very low points without calling her "annoying" then she was sure he could have. She inwardly growled as she scrubbed the last of the blood out of her medic's skirt. Maybe it was good Deidara had taken her first kiss. At least it was something she'd remember for the rest of her life.

She was finally feeling clean when she began to smell something _very _good. The aroma of the cooking fish made her hurry to put her clothes back on, and scramble to the shore.

Deidara had lit a small fire, and had four medium-sized fish cooking above the baby flames. He was sitting on a dry log next to the fire, staring out thoughtfully at the river. She had come to realise that he liked to daydream, especially at this time of day, just as the temperature was cooling.

"Hey." She called. "You caught these?" She gestured towards the fish, and he nodded, turning to face her.

"There were lots around, yeah, and it's been a while since we ate." He moved up to make room for her on the log. "They should be done now." He lifted one of the speared fish, inspected it, then passed it to her. Surprised, she took it, muttering thanks before biting into the moist meat, seeing him reach for another before she closed her eyes in bliss. The fish was delicious, and perfectly cooked.

For a few minutes the only sounds were that of the river, and the soft crackling of the fire as they ate. Sakura felt at ease. Despite the kiss they had shared earlier, she had decided to put it out of her mind and just think about easier, more comfortable things, like home. She wondered how much Tsunade was worrying, and hoped she wasn't drinking too much, or poor Shizune would be having a hard time. She hoped her old cat was alright, she didn't like leaving him for very long. She worried that he got lonely.

"Sakura, yeah..." For once Deidara seemed to be the awkward one.

"What is it?" She replied, still half thinking about Konoha.

"What's Konoha like?" He poked the fire, although it didn't seem like it needed poking. Sakura wondered why it was that all guys seemed unable to leave fires alone, before she thought properly about his question.

"It's filled with good people." To her, that was the most important part, though Deidara looked at her sceptically. "It always feels safe, and I know that my friends are all around me." Sakura pondered her home village, thinking about what was good, and what was bad. "The citizens can be judgemental. When Naruto was growing up, he was treated badly by many of the villagers. Before I got to know him, I didn't treat him very well either." She thought for a moment. "But they come around." She smiled as thoughts of Ichiraku crept in. "We go for ramen a lot now."

"It sounds a lot different from Iwa, yeah." He said. "We didn't have ramen there." He added as an afterthought, looking at her with his grin back in place, which made her smile.

They set off again, having stamped out their fire and buried the fish bones. They didn't want to leave a trail if they could help it. Sakura was still worried about those hunter-nins catching up to them. She knew they'd had to break earlier than expected last night, and if the hunter-nins had managed to catch a trail after the storm then they wouldn't be far behind.

They were back to the rhythmic jumping through the trees, only this time Sakura had a big distraction. Although she had decided not to think about what happened back at the river, she was finding it extremely difficult, as the scene kept on repeating in her head. The sensation of his lips on hers refused to fade. It also didn't help when every time she looked at him, images of his naked torso filled her mind.

She whacked herself on the head, ignoring the funny look Deidara gave her. It was his fault, so she wouldn't even explain it to him. He'd only be all smug about it.

The sky above them was beginning to fade, from the pale blue of the afternoon, to a deeper orange as the sun began to set. It didn't look like they were going to reach as far as she'd hoped today. The break at the river had slowed them down; though she was glad they had, despite having her first kiss stolen. She'd been able to sort out her thoughts, and she'd learned that Deidara was a good cook. That fish had been wonderful, maybe she could persuade him to cook again before they reached Konoha.

Sakura had been so absorbed in her thoughts, that she hadn't been paying attention to the chakra signatures of the area. She gasped and stopped at once when she concentrated on the four signatures she could sense.

"Deidara." He was beside her in a second. "There are four. Really strong, coming from that direction." She pointed towards Konoha. The hunter-nin had somehow gotten around them and figured out where they were headed. They were approaching fast, there was no way they could outrun them. Even if they could escape them, they needed to go that way to get into fire country. They would have to fight.

Sakura was a little frightened as the hunter-nins became visible, landing on the branches twenty feet away. Three of them were men, two in their early thirties, the other a little older. The woman looked to also be in her thirties. One thing they all had in common was the predatory look in their eyes. They were all prepared to kill. Sakura could tell that they all had many, many times the battle experience that she had.

She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura, you might want to take my bracelet off, yeah."


	7. A Change of Heart

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto **

"_It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are." – Roy Disney._

* * *

"_Sakura, you might want to take my bracelet off, yeah."_

His hand was steady on her shoulder. Inside, Sakura was panicking, but she couldn't show it. She wouldn't show her weakness to her enemies, or Deidara for that matter. He'd seen enough of her weakness these past two days.

The ninja before her, just about visible from behind the luminous leaves, were of chuunin or jounin level. She could tell from the sophisticated postures, and the stealthy confidence they held that these ninja were at least on par with them.

She reached up slowly to the hand that gripped her shoulder, without taking her eyes off the stationary hunter-nins. She held it tightly for a second for comfort, before removing it and straightening her back. She would do this her way if she could. She carefully reached into her ninja pouch, pulling put her remaining exploding tags and some shurikens and pressing them into Deidara's open hand.

"We're going to work as a team. We'll do this together." She told him, still refusing to break the eye contact with the hunter-nins. Her voice shook a little, despite the attempted arrogance.

"Just thought I'd ask..." From his tone, she knew he was grinning. "We'll blast the fuckers into the sky, yeah."

Sakura felt strangely reassured with Deidara beside her, his long ponytail blowing in the wind, the ends tickling the side of her face a little. They were standing very close, she realised. Closer than she would stand to Kakashi or Naruto during a mission. It seemed perfectly normal to her though, as she bent her knees, readying herself to attack. It was clear that they were not going to get out of this without a fight, but maybe, just maybe they could get out relatively unscathed...

* * *

Tsunade paced the area behind her desk, occasionally glancing out of the wide window, though she knew she would see the same view that she saw every day. Sakura had been gone for too long. She was far too late now to put it down to weather conditions or a simple detour. Sakura was reliable.

The pounding headache from her hangover had worsened her mood. Jiraiya had set off for Amegakure the day before, and the foreboding feeling spreading in Tsunade's chest weighed heavily on her heart. This was a mission she had a feeling he wouldn't come back from.

Sakura was another big weight on her mind. That girl was the only apprentice she had ever directly taken on, and other than Jiraiya and Shizune, Sakura was one of the only people she was truly close with. She wouldn't go quite as far to say that Sakura was the daughter she never had, but the student-teacher bond was very similar to that of a parent and child, especially once Sakura lost her parents.

Since a large number of her ninja were out looking for Sasuke, there were very few people free for her to send right now, but something had to be done.

"Koga. Ushi." She commanded sharply, and was instantly replied by a quick whoosh of air and two lithe blurs kneeling respectfully before her, ready to obey her orders. "Find Sakura. Bring her home."

"Hai." Another rush of air and they were gone.

* * *

Sakura and Deidara both rushed forwards simultaneously, unconsciously mirroring each other's movements. They were met from each side by the hardened-looking ninjas, kunai clashing with sparks. The hunter-nins were good. There was no consistency to their attacks, so Sakura couldn't predict their next movements. She was barely meeting the stabs with blocks of her own.

Deidara seemed to be fairing a lot better than her; he was using two kunai to drive his opponents back. Sakura sharpened her medical chakra, concentrating a thin point at the tip of her fingers, each hand becoming a deadly weapon, glowing with vicious energy.

Her two opponents had noticed the chakra concentration, and gave her a slightly wider birth, clearly informed of the more violent uses of medical jutsus. The woman especially looked as though she had seen this before, a guarded but confident look in her eyes.

The woman put her hands together in a quick succession of hand seals. She was a water style user, judging from the seals she used. Sakura jumped back, signalling for Deidara to do the same. They landed on a higher branch, hopping back still further as they were followed by a barrage of kunai and shuriken.

The water attack hit a moment later, the strong blast almost knocking Sakura out of the tree, her grip on the branch slipping. She felt a strong arm around her waist, keeping her steady. She turned her face up towards his, although she couldn't see his expression through the spray of water. As the attack lessened, Sakura became aware of two signatures moving above them.

"Above us!" She shouted, quickly charging her fists again and pulling away from his grip, ready to block and return the enemy's advances.

Deidara twisted his body, shuriken and kunai thudding into the wood around him as he dodged. He caught some of the flying weapons out of the air and hurled them straight back at the ninja, surprising Sakura with his dexterity. From the sound the kunai made, at least one had hit a target. She simply evaded them, using the direction of the missiles to judge to position of the enemy, while watching for an attack from below.

It was very difficult to judge where the enemy was attacking them from. She could tell that there were two above them, and they seemed to be relocating every few seconds. Once she began to see a pattern, following the quick blurs closely, she leapt up towards the movement, using chakra to push away with her feet. She thrust her fist forward, feeling blindly with her chakra for a target, feeling a sick crunch as she felt ribs implode beneath her touch. It was easier the second time, she decided, though she doubted she'd ever get used to killing.

The man fell, teetering on the edge for a second, blood streaming out of his open mouth as he looked at her in shock. Sakura's stomach lurched a little at the sight, before she remembered that they were still in danger.

She looked around, her eyes frantically searching for the flash of blonde. She saw him with blood covering his arm, parrying the attacks of both the female ninja and one of the men. It looked as though he'd been hit by a shuriken. He sent some exploding tags at his enemy, narrowly missing them as the explosive bang shook the forest around them.

She leapt down, not wanting to leave him fighting on his own. She picked up a rock, and hurled it with sharp accuracy at the female. There was a thump and a small growl of pain as the rock hit the ninja's shoulder, probably dislocating it. Deidara looked at her with thanks. He still wasn't used to using this much taijutsu.

The ferocious expression on the woman's face gave her chills as she turned to face Sakura, letting her comrade fight Deidara alone.

"Where is Kiken, Konoha scum?" She demanded, crouching with a kunai pointed towards Sakura, who assumed she was talking about the man she had just killed. She didn't bother to answer, knowing it would serve no purpose.

She was about to drive her fist into the ground to force her opponent into the air, when she felt two sharp thuds in her back. She stumbled with the impact, coughing as she felt blood enter her right lung. It had apparently been penetrated by one of the kunai embedded in her back. She had forgotten about the other man.

"Sakura!" She heard Deidara's voice, and saw his beautiful eyes wide with shock, before they narrowed with fury. He kicked the man he was fighting with such force that the tree the man flew into snapped.

"What's this? Our Deidara cares about someone other than himself?" The woman's voice was becoming difficult to concentrate on, as Sakura realised she was going into shock. She tried to summon her healing energy, but the excess of adrenaline in her blood wouldn't let her focus enough to heal. She sank to her knees, unable to stand. She heard mocking laughter, making the blood in her mouth taste even bitterer. She saw the woman in front of her raising her hand to throw another kunai. Sakura closed her eyes, though she remained upright; she refused to die lying down.

A sharp clashing sound made her eyes flicker open, and through the trembling slits she could see Deidara standing in front of her looking very angry. The woman was clasping her leg, a kunai protruding from her thigh.

"Sakura." He wasn't looking at her; his gaze was focused on the enemies in front. "Take it off." His wrist was stretched out behind him, easily in her grasp. Of course, she remembered. If she died now he'd be killed by it.

Sakura was experiencing one of those rare moments when she had absolutely no idea what to do. For once she had no orders from Kakashi or the Hokage telling her the best course of action. She knew what the ninja code would say, however. It would tell her to let both of them die. A dead enemy is better than a free enemy, but it just didn't sound right to Sakura.

She wanted him to live.

Leaning forward, she managed to grasp his warm hand in her bloody ones, forcing her raw chakra into the bind haphazardly. It grew in size, warping oddly until it slipped off his wrist and made a light noise on the leafy ground. She looked up at him blearily, weak arms dangling at her sides, knowing this was probably the last time she would ever see him. Even if she survived, she knew he would be long gone, back to Akatsuki. Just another red cloud vanishing beyond the horizon.

"Don't cry Kitten, yeah." He was looking down at her, a mysterious smile on his features. She hadn't noticed the tears pouring down her cheeks. She didn't know why she was crying, and she knew it would be better if she didn't think too hard on it. She was tipping backwards, unable to even sit up any more. At this angle, she was about to fall on the kunai in her back. Just before she hit the floor, she felt his strong hands laying her on her side gently. The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was his long hair, the bloody tips brushing against her face.

Deidara was pissed. She was only fifteen, yet they'd stab her in the back while she wasn't looking. This only added to the fury he'd felt for his ex-countrymen for they really were backstabbers.

He wasn't the type of man that normally enjoyed killing, but he felt unusually angry for some reason, and couldn't wait to blow them to pieces. The relief he felt as his chakra came rushing back to him was indescribable. He'd gone far too long without creating some art. He smiled as he felt his chakra rushing into his palms, making them hungry for clay. He reached into the pocket where he had stored the clay from the river, the mouths devouring eagerly. When he opened his hands, a large pile of explosive bugs hopped towards his enemies, vibrating a little with energy.

The three ninja had been too close to avoid his attacks. They tried to run, the woman straggling behind because of the injuries Sakura had caused, but the men made no attempt to help her. They were too preoccupied with saving their own lives.

_Hypocrites_, Deidara thought. They thought they were so much honourable than him.

When there were enough explosives stuck to the fleeing ninja for it to be fatal, he detonated the explosives, feeling grim satisfaction in their demise. The hunter-nins had been too far away from him for him to be able to properly appreciate the beauty of the blasts, but it was good to be blowing things up again.

Now, what to do with the bleeding girl at his feet?

* * *

Koga and Ushi were just a few miles from the fight when they heard the explosions. They were instantly on guard; this could mean that the Akatsuki was loose; explosions were his specialty after all. Wordlessly, they began to travel in the direction of the blasts.

The stench of burned flesh was all around them as they approached the site of the battle. The smell didn't affect the pair- their anbu training had prepared them for situations far worse than this.

Koga went to inspect the corpses, hoping none of them would be identified as the Godaime's apprentice. Nobody wanted to bear that news.

The first was the body of a woman, though by the long singed brown hair it was obvious that it wasn't Sakura. The other burned bodies were that of middle aged men. The last body he found had not been blown up. Koga turned the body over, grimacing at the sight of the caved in chest, ribs protruding from the flesh in jagged spikes.

"Neither the Akatsuki or Sakura are here. Could you catch a trail?" He asked Ushi, who was better at tracking.

"The trail leads up to here, then vanishes. Her blood is all over the place, so she's most likely badly wounded." Ushi gazed up at the sky, remembering rumours of how Deidara of the Akatsuki could fly.

It was very likely that Sakura had been taken by him to Akatsuki. She was important to Konoha after all. There were so many reasons she could be taken. Her healing skills, as bait, a bargaining chip, and even to satisfy reproductive desires; she was known in Konoha as quite the beauty.

The Hokage would not be pleased.

* * *

Deidara had never been so happy to be up in the air as he was now. The atmosphere was almost icy this high up, but the exhilaration took away the chill. He looked down at the sleeping girl in front of him. He had treated her wounds as best as he could. Although he couldn't heal with chakra like her, he was better than most at post-fight patchups. He had removed both kunai, and used what he could find in her medical kit to sew her up and bandage the wounds to stop the bleeding. Her breathing was a little ragged, presumably because of the blood in her lungs.

He was sitting astride the bird with his legs apart. Sakura had her back against his chest, her head lolling to one side. One of his arms was thrown around her to prevent her from falling. He had pulled his cloak around her earlier when she had begun shivering against the frosty air; he wouldn't want all his efforts to be wasted if she got pneumonia. He quite enjoyed having her with him; the shared body heat made travelling like this far less uncomfortable.

She began to move slightly, moaning slightly as she woke. She opened her eyes, expecting to be lying on the forest floor, or maybe dead. She had not expected to be a few hundred feet up in the sky. After a short stunned silence, she panicked, grabbing with her hands for something to hold onto, finding her fists tugging at something soft.

"That hurts, yeah." A larger hand eased hers out of the silky strands. "You've made it messy now."

"Deidara!" She didn't know why she was so surprised. He seemed to do nothing but turn her expectations upside down. When things involved him, she should assume a prediction of the most illogical progression of events. She was suddenly overcome by a coughing fit, a metallic taste filling her mouth. "What's going on?" She choked out.

"You need to heal yourself. You were hit with two kunai from behind, yeah." He still hadn't let go of her hand, and it was making her feel nervous. Why did he care if she was injured now? She'd taken the chakra bind off, so he had no reason to worry about dying along with her. More importantly, where was he taking her? Surely he wouldn't...

She gasped in realisation, betrayal hitting her hard in the chest. She didn't know why she felt so hurt. She knew they were enemies, and wouldn't hesitate to use each other. Maybe it was because for a second, when they had been fighting, she had felt like they were on the same side. She needed to get these idealistic ideas out of her head. The situation was now totally reversed. Now she was the captive, and he was taking her to Akatsuki. She was to be used against her own village.

"What's wrong, hmm? Don't have enough chakra?" He twisted his position so he was no longer holding her, and instead held his hands out. "I've got plenty, do you- Hey what do you think you're doing, yeah?"

She had scooted away from him, despite the warning pain in her back and chest. There was no way she'd let herself become a weapon to be used against her friends. She'd rather be dead. She evaded Deidara's lunge for her, smiling sardonically before she pushed herself off the edge of the clay bird, feeling a rush of cold air and a lurch in her stomach as she sped towards the earth. At least she would die with her honour, knowing that she had protected her friends.

When Deidara saw her disappear from his sight, he was truly stunned. Why would she do that? After he'd saved her and everything. He really didn't understand women- or more accurately- Sakura.

Without any further hesitation, he jumped off after her, relying on his larger weight to catch up. He sped through the air, keeping his body straight to increase his speed. The ground was approaching more rapidly than he would like, though he was gaining on her quickly. He was close to her; he could reach her cloak, and he used it to pull her closer. She was in his arms, and for a second she was completely still. Their faces were so close he could hear her intake of breath over the rush of air around them. Her wide eyes were locked on his, confusion and some undefined emotion making them look bigger than ever.

Deidara had never seen anything so beautiful. The motion of the air made her hair float wildly around her face like a halo. The delicate light from the moon made her pale skin glow, and she stood out like a star against the dark sky; her shining, trembling green eyes the centre of it all. His eyes widened at the realisation; she was art.

Not a second too soon, they landed heavily on the clay bird, entangled with each other still. Sakura sat up shakily, too shocked by the whole situation to speak. Suddenly she was pinned down; her hands held forcefully either side of her head. Deidara was above her, and she had never seen him look so angry.

"You idiot! What the fuck were you thinking, hm? What if I hadn't got to you in time? You shouldn't be fucking around like this when your wounds haven't even healed." His forehead was creased in a frown as his eyes searched hers for answers. "I bet you've ripped your stitches and all, yeah..."

He seemed to genuinely not know why she'd jumped. Was he stupid? Of course she'd sacrifice herself for her village. She tried to wriggle out of his grasp, and winced uncomfortably at the pain of the wounds on her back, feeling a horrible sticky sensation. He may have been right about the stitches.

"You've got enough chakra to heal yourself, yeah?" He asked again, still not letting her wrists go. His face was very close to hers. She nodded quietly, still not breaking his mesmerising gaze.

"I'm not letting go until you've healed yourself." The stubborn look on his face almost made her smile, despite the seriousness of the reversed-kidnap situation. It didn't look like she had much of a choice in the matter, so she summoned her chakra and began to repair the damage.

She was surprised he knew how to treat wounds to such an extent, but then she supposed it came with being an S-class missing-nin. You didn't have a hospital you could go to when a mission went wrong. She wondered how many times he had had to patch himself up alone. She was impressed at the skilfulness of the stitching. He really must have had a lot of practice.

The healing process took a little longer than it normally would have; she found that his weight on top of her made it hard to concentrate. It wasn't uncomfortable having him on top of her like this, but it reminded her of all the other times he had pinned her, and how spending time with him had been almost... Fun. She thought about the previous few years of her life, realising that she hadn't had real fun with anyone since before Team Seven split. Her life had been so dark recently, but even if it was just for a few days, he had brightened it.

Once the healing was complete, she opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"I'm fine now." She told him, expecting him to let her up, or maybe yell at her some more. He stayed in that position, hovering over her as if he was about to say something. Sakura shifted a little beneath him, not understanding his actions. He leaned back, letting go of her wrists. She rubbed them slightly; he had gripped them really hard. She must have really pissed him off. She saw him looking at her wrists, a guilty expression on his face.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you, yeah..." He said, gesturing at her wrists. "You really surprised me, jumping off like that."

She shrugged tiredly, easing herself up into a sitting position. "You've never tried to capture a Konoha ninja before?" She joked half-heartedly. Konoha ninja were renowned for their "Will of fire". They were rarely captured alive.

"Capture? Sakura I-"

"What's going to happen to me Deidara? Are you going to use me as bait? For information?" She felt angry again, their moment lost as she remembered more clearly who they were and where their loyalties lay.

"Saku-"

"I know I did the same thing to you, but it's just so annoying! After I made your chest better, and you stole my fist kiss, and we fought those ninja and-"

She couldn't talk anymore, because he was kissing her. His lips were soft against hers, but also firm and dominant. He cupped her face in his palm, his other hand on her back, pulling her closer. This kiss, although more tender than her first, completely blew her mind. His mouth moved expertly over hers, making her tremble slightly at the unforeseen contact.

His tongue gently invaded her mouth, her inexperience meaning nothing as she reacted on instinct, meeting it with her own, moving with him. She ran her hands through his long, soft hair, enjoying the feel of him all around her. She was kissing him back, even though she knew it was against all that she stood for and what she believed. Yes, she was being captured, but there was nothing she could do about it. She was beginning to forget all the reasons why it was wrong to be here with him, pressed against him, enveloped in that warm, masculine smell that was uniquely Deidara.

She felt him break the kiss, and opened her eyes, meeting his without any reservations. He was holding her shoulders, his face still close to hers.

"Look Sakura... Look at where we are, yeah."

She looked, and couldn't believe what she saw. Beneath her, though very dark, were the distinctive red cliffs just outside of Fire country's border. They were heading straight for Konoha.

* * *

**A/N: **Did I worry you for a second by making it look like it was going to turn into a horribly clichéd, overused plotline? The whole "Sakura gets captured and falls in love" one?

Hopefully you can forgive me enough to review, you adorable little things! ^-^


	8. Stitches

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

**

"_A guilty conscience needs to confess. A work of art is a confession.__ "- __Albert Camus

* * *

_

"_Sakura... Look at where we are, yeah." _

_She looked, and couldn't believe what she saw. Beneath her, though very dark, were the distinctive red cliffs just outside of Fire country's border. They were heading straight for Konoha.

* * *

_

"We're going to Konoha? But... I don't understand." She searched his face for answers, finding only amusement on his features. He only smiled more at her bewilderment, squeezing her shoulders encouragingly. He didn't want her jumping again. The truth was he was still reeling at the realisation that it had been her _first_ kiss. Fifteen and never been kissed? He supposed stranger things had happened.

"You could say I've got motives of my own, yeah." He let go of her shoulders, and she swayed a little at the loss of contact.

"And you won't tell me what they are?" She asked, sighing a little tiredly.

"No." He replied. For once his trademark smirk was absent.

"Then at least tell me something; will it hurt Konoha?" Her tone was serious now. Her village was the most important thing in the world to her now. She would kill to protect it, though the thought of killing Deidara made her shudder, even though he was her enemy. She knew too much about him to consider him just another threat that needed to be removed.

He paused for a moment, as if not sure how to answer, before frowning slightly.

"No." He replied, sounding more sure of his answer than he looked. He seemed troubled, his eyes no longer focused on hers, settling instead on the pinkening horizon.

A hard gust of wind caused Sakura to lose her balance, making put her hands down either side of her for balance. She felt a painful tug at the skin of her back; the stitches were still there. Deidara noticed her grimace.

"What's wrong, hmm? Didn't you heal yourself properly?" His arm was on her shoulder once again, steadying her against the wind. She felt much safer like this. If it was anyone else, she would shove them off and call them a chauvinist pig, but this was different. She knew that in his own odd, warped way, he respected her and would never call her weak just because she was a girl. Though if she thought deeper into it, he probably didn't go around kissing boys to shut them up... She felt her cheeks darken at the thought.

"I'm fine. It's just that the stitches are still there. They kind of hurt." Now that the skin had healed around them, they were going to be difficult to remove, especially considering the location. She would find it hard to do something so fiddly on her back, despite her flexibility.

"I'll take them out, yeah. It's only fair. I put them in to start with."

Sakura was sure there was something wrong with that logic, but she decided to count her blessings.

Looking around, she noticed that they had climbed far higher in the time since she had jumped. She was confronted with one of the most beautiful, yet confusing things she had ever seen. The sun was beginning to rise, shedding a few rose-tinted rays upon them. That in itself was stunning, but the thing which made her speechless, was that she could still see the stars, embedded in the candyfloss pink sky like glitter.

Deidara noticed her looking, and grinned, also tilting his head back to observe the breathtaking view.

"You get used to it. It happens every day if you're this high up, yeah." He quickly lost interest in the sky, focusing instead on her expression.

Her lips were slightly parted; her head tipped back leaving the pale skin of her neck exposed. She seemed totally absorbed in the moment. She seemed to notice him staring, as she turned her head towards him, her eyes still partially obscured by her hair.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, turning her body round to face him.

"No, yeah." He replied, a little bemused. She laughed at his answer, his glare making his slip seem even cuter.

"No." He said again, before squinting in the general direction of Fire Country. "I was just wondering how far we are from Konoha. I've never been there before."

Sakura was surprised. He seemed so worldly; she couldn't imagine him never having visited the most influential ninja village this side of the great sea. Though considering the bounty on his head, it would be awkward to go sightseeing when you couldn't let your guard down for a second.

"On foot at an average speed... About three hours." She could recognise the hills and rivers, although it was disconcerting seeing them from this angle.

"Then under an hour travelling like this, yeah." He said conceitedly, clearly proud of his creation's speed. Sakura smiled at his boasting, and was secretly impressed. Konoha didn't have anything like this jutsu. The closest thing they had was Sai's ink birds, but they were flimsy and impractical.

"So what are you going to do when you reach Konoha? " Sakura was still mystified as to why he would enter enemy lands, but she had given up trying to understand him for the time being.

"I want to talk to someone important. I have an unusual proposal, yeah." His gaze had become distant again, staring out at the glowing expanse of forest.

"You'll want to see the Hokage then, my Shishou. She's fair and will hear you out." Despite her words, she could imagine how Tsunade and Deidara's meeting would probably go. She smiled a little at the thought of Deidara being punched out of Hokage Tower like Naruto was so often.

"Seriously? The Hokage's your Shishou?" Deidara looked impressed. "How the hell did that happen, yeah?"

"I asked her." Sakura remembered the day vividly. It was the day she'd decided never to be a burden to anyone again, the same day that most of her naiveté and innocence had up and left along with her team. "She understood why I wanted to train so much. It wasn't easy being on a team full of prodigies."

"I know you were teamed with the Copy Ninja and the Kyuubi... Who else was on your team?" He looked thoughtful, a faint frown creasing his forehead.

Sakura paused for a moment, unsure if she should answer or not, deciding she should. "Uchiha Sasuke."

Deidara's reaction wasn't as bad as she had anticipated, his mouth merely twisting into a grimace of distaste. "I thought so, yeah."

Sakura was surprised. She thought that if he'd know her previous relationship to Sasuke he'd have been a lot more hostile towards her. "Why didn't you say something before?"

"I didn't see any reason too. You're not defined by who your team is. I hate stuck up bastards like him, yeah." The expression of his face was hardened, and she got the feeling he was talking about more than just Sasuke. "People should earn their power; it's worth nothing if you're born with it."

Sakura couldn't help but agree with Deidara's last statement, and had a hunch that he would get on well with Lee and Gai-sensei.

"That's very true." She said after consideration, remembering her own training with Tsunade. She felt very much as though she had earned the power she commanded, and had the scars to show for it.

She smiled when she realised that she hadn't reacted to him calling Sasuke a bastard; if she'd heard that a few months ago she would probably have started a fight over a comment like that. As it was now, she had barely even noticed the insult.

They spent the next few minutes in comfortable silence, Sakura still fascinated by the constantly changing views. She noticed Deidara fiddling with something, and turned to see him holding a spidery white butterfly.

"What's that?" She asked, nodding at the delicate creature.

"This?" He held it closer to her. "It's my own unique jutsu, yeah. My art."

She reached out to touch it, question in her eyes. He nodded at her, an excited grin showing his straight white teeth. Just as she was about to pick it up, it fluttered to life, startling her. The little white creature descended back down, landing weightlessly on her hand, allowing her to peer closely at it.

"Deidara, this is incredible!" She exclaimed, fascinated by the intricate structure of the thin wings and body. He could really make something like this out of clay?

"I haven't done it yet... Watch this, yeah." The clay butterfly used its paper-thin wings to once again take to the air, this time travelling further away. Sakura noticed that the bird they were sitting on was no longer moving, instead flapping steadily to remain in the same spot. It looked like Deidara wanted to show off.

"Katsu!"

The tiny creature suddenly detonated, bursting with a loud pop into a huge mass of bright green sparkles. She was entranced completely for a moment, astounded by the unexpected beauty before it shimmered away as if it had never been.

"Deidara..." She said softly, still reeling from the captivating display he had showed her.

"I normally do them bigger, yeah..." He said, watching her reaction carefully. "But we're pretty close to Konoha."

The way he was reading her face, trying to see if she was impressed, reminded her of Lee or Naruto showing her a new move.

Then the thought of Deidara in one of those green spandex training suit crossed her mind.

Sakura smiled, a giggle bubbling up inside her that she couldn't suppress. His eyes narrowed and she tried to stop laughing when she realised what he was probably thinking. He probably thought she was making fun of him, which wasn't so.

"What's funny, hmm?" He was pulling away from her, the tenseness in his strong shoulders showing unmistakable irritation. She stopped laughing, regretting humiliating him; albeit unintentionally. He had clearly not expected her to laugh at him.

"Deidara..." She frowned, thinking for a moment before she grabbed his face with her hands, bringing it close to her own. She pulled his bangs to the side, making his eyes seek out hers in curiosity. She could see them better like this, and the intense blueness seemed luminous, his beauty marred only by the small burn scar covering his left eye.

Ignoring the slightly shocked expression on his face as her hands began to glow, she set to work on repairing the skin around his eye, using her chakra to regenerate the tissue and smooth it over. Though her eyes were closed as she worked, she could feel the skin becoming soft and even beneath her finger tips. She opened her eyes, looking over her work.

She had never felt this satisfied with a healing before, she realised, as she took in the details of Deidara's newly perfected face. It was still very near to her own, and she could feel his breath on her cheek.

"Why... Yeah?" He said softly, one hand reaching up to brush her hair from her eyes, remaining there to cup her cheek.

"Consider it an exchange," She replied, ignoring the burning blush of her cheeks and instead focusing on Deidara. "For showing me something so beautiful."

"You really liked it?" He asked with a grin, though he still sounded a little incredulous. She nodded with a smile, uncertain of what to say. He was one of the most over-confident, arrogant people she had ever met, yet the incandescent eyes fixed on hers flickered with an almost childlike vulnerability.

"You're the first person to say that, yeah."

Neither of them were showing any signs of moving away from each other. They were so close that she could feel the heat coming off his body. She felt one of his hands moving up her arm, coming to rest on her shoulder, steadying her, while the other lay on her back, pulling her closer.

Her eyes were closed; she knew that when she opened them things were going to change. Their fleeting partnership was about to come to an end, and he would be taken in for questioning by Konoha. She couldn't understand why there was such an aching sadness in her chest; she was just doing what she intended to do from the start, albeit in an unconventional manner.

She reached her hand up to his chest, letting it rest there. She could feel his heart beating with the steady rise and fall, the strong thudding reminding her of when she found him literally torn apart by his own hatred. Deidara, although he could hate, and could avenge and kill was so different from Sasuke. He smiled without irony and the constant teasing he gave her didn't make her feel belittled; instead she felt like he treated her as an equal. That was more than she could say for even her own teammates. She would be sad to end their journey, but it had always been inevitable.

Using the hand on his warm chest, she gently pushed him away from her. She opened her eyes blearily. It may have just been that she had very little experience with men, but she was finding how close he was almost intoxicating.

"We're near Konoha." Her small voice broke the silence, the world once again coming crashing down upon their shoulders. "We should land."

"We don't want to get shot down by some kunai-happy genin, yeah." He agreed, letting go of her and turning to the front of their vessel. Her shoulder felt cold where his hand had been, missing the contact already.

The forest was quiet, the spot where they had landed seeming peaceful. It felt almost surreal being this close to home after the whole ordeal.

Sakura hopped off the giant bird, wincing as she landed with failed grace on the dead leaves, her hands on the floor for balance. The stitches were tugging painfully on her newly-healed wounds and they were affecting her movement. Deidara was watching her, obviously amused at her landing.

"Need some help there, hm?" He asked, walking over to her with a hand proffered. Sakura ignored his hand and stood up herself, paying no attention to the slight shake in her knees. Looking up at him through her hair, she smiled in defiance.

"Could you take out my stitches now please?" She didn't like to ask for help, but he had already offered earlier. Besides, it's not like he hadn't been in the same situation just days ago. She'd had bigger blows to her pride.

He grinned. "Sure Kitten, but you'll need to lie down. The stitches will be too tight to take out if you're standing up, yeah." She gritted her teeth, but knew he was right. She had hoped he'd just take them out there and then, but it looked like he wanted to do things properly.

She took off her cloak and laid it on the ground in front of her. At least she wouldn't be lying in the muddy leaves. She unzipped her top and lay face down on the rough cotton, placing her hands under her chin. She wasn't wearing any chest bindings. She guessed Deidara must have taken them off to treat her wounds. It made sense that he wouldn't know how to re-tie them.

The image of him undressing her suddenly crossed her mind, and the mental imagery made blood rush to her face. At least he couldn't see her blush in this position. She knew she shouldn't be embarrassed; it was just a medical procedure and he'd already seen more than her naked back in the cave.

Hearing nothing from Deidara for once, she chanced a quick look over her shoulder. He was turned away from her, his arms folded, looking bored. He was being a gentleman? The surprises really did keep on coming with this guy.

"Can I turn around yet, yeah?" His tone wasn't mocking, like she thought it might have been; instead he seemed perfectly serious and respectful. Maybe the threats from last time had worked?

"Hn." She grunted in confirmation, turning her head forwards again quickly. She was still too embarrassed to say any words.

She felt him sit down beside her, his knees brushing her side. She jumped a little, not anticipating how close he'd be. She gritted her teeth as she felt him pushing her top up her back, his warm hands ghosting over her skin. She cursed as she felt herself shiver, not anticipating the touch. She hoped he hadn't noticed.

She felt his touch on a slightly tender area, and was surprised at how gentle he was. Maybe being an artist had more uses than she had thought. She twitched again as he made a noise in the back of his throat.

"So you did tear your stitches didn't you, hm?" He reprimanded lightly, reaching into her medical pouch. She could feel his hand through the leather on her outer thigh, rummaging for something. She felt his hand retreat, apparently successful. "This is a type of antiseptic, right?"

She turned her head slowly, hiding behind her sheet of pink hair to look at the half obscured tube of medicine he was holding up.

"Yes." She replied, before returning to her previous position, her face hidden. She couldn't look at him; she knew he'd be amused at her embarrassment and would probably make fun of her later for it. He already knew how inexperienced she was- she had inadvertently blurted out that he'd taken her first kiss.

His touch became more professional, his nimble fingers skimming over the stitches before retreating briefly. The warm feeling of his palms soothed the agitated wounds, before she realised what he was about to do.

"Deidara, you're not-" She wanted to sit up, but her modesty and his hands on her back prevented her, resulting in an odd spasming motion.

"Stop wiggling Kitten. It's a very useful part of my jutsu, yeah, and you're going to relax." One hand was in her hair, stroking it soothingly, while the other continued to hold her down. "I'm going to take out your stitches now." She felt the hand in her hair retreat, but was still furious at the patronising implications of both his actions and the nickname. She had to retaliate somehow.

"You look like a girl." She told him lamely, feeling childish as soon as the words had left her mouth.

She felt him pause, his hand hovering over her back. Why had she deliberately tried to anger him? Here she was, completely vulnerable to this unpredictable, hot-blooded S-Class criminal, and she just insulted him in the worst way. She wouldn't be surprised if he blew her up.

"Are you asking me to prove something, hm?" He asked, his tone saturated with innuendo.

She hurriedly shook her head without turning round. She definitely did not want him proving anything; her face was red enough already. She awaited some form of retribution for her comment, but none came. Not even a _small_ explosion.

Instead, she felt a mouth very gently undoing her stitches. She tried not to squirm at the ticklish sensation. She'd never known her back was this sensitive. Deidara gave a satisfied 'Hn' of amusement at her failed attempts to stay still.

"It tickles." She explained crossly, her voice muffled through her cloak which her face was currently buried in.

"If you don't stop moving I'll have to sit on you." He told her. His voice was teasing, but she didn't want to find out if he was telling the truth, so lay dead still, putting her shinobi training to good use. If she really put her mind to it she could truly pass for a corpse, chilling her body and slowing her pulse, but it wasn't something she enjoyed doing. That particular technique had been the most unpleasant one her Shishou had taught her.

Even with her training, she found it hard to ignore his close proximity. His touch was efficient and gentle, but his fingers on her skin as he rubbed in the antiseptic made it hard to repress a strange shiver. She would have to look into it when she got back to her medical journals.

He finished faster than she expected and was walking off, away from the bird.

"I'm going to get water. You should get dressed while I'm gone, yeah. I may not be so much of a gentleman now you're not injured." He grinned at her stunned expression before sauntering off with her canteen in the direction of the river.

She glared at his retreating form, making sure he was out of sight before digging out some chest bindings and her last clean shirt, almost ripping the zip off in her irritation.

_That man! _She raged internally. He was being a gentleman one minute, and a pervert the next. She didn't understand him _whatsoever._ She could understand some men. She understood Naruto; he just wanted to be accepted, loved and to eat ramen. Kakashi was a man deeply engulfed in his past, his regrets holding him back from happiness, but he was content as long as he was doing the right thing. Deidara, however, was very much a mystery to her. As annoyed as she was, she was curious about him. Nobody in Konoha had ever interested her this much.

Sakura reached up to feel her hair where he had stroked it, sighing when she felt how messy it was. Reaching into her pack, she pulled out a small comb and began to brush out the tangles. Her thoughts turned again to home.

As much as she loved Naruto and Kakashi and would give her life for them, she knew they didn't truly respect her- even though she had grown strong. She knew it wasn't a reflection on their character; Fire Country was still a country reigned by and for men and possessed many ideas which had long since been abolished by other nations. One of Mist's most elite assassination squads was entirely comprised of women, whereas Konoha still only allowed the training of one female ninja for every two males. The only country which was behind Fire Country in this respect was Wind- at least female civilians didn't have to cover their faces in Konoha.

No, Deidara was extremely different from anyone she'd ever met. She found him... _Refreshing._

Her reverie was interrupted by his return, his stealthy footsteps only alerting her to his presence when he was right behind her. He had surprised her, but she didn't show it. She turned around to face him, her blush finally gone.

He had pulled his hair into a single tie- much like she had done for his the day before. He really did look better without it sticking up on top of his head, she mused.

"No pigtails today then?" She grinned at him, nodding at his hair.

"I thought about it, yeah." He grinned back, not missing a beat. He looked up at the brightening sky. Was that a little apprehension in his eyes? "We'd better set off soon. If we're any later patrols will come looking for us, yeah."

"I'm surprised they haven't already." She frowned. It was unusual for Tsunade to be so late in sending backup. Then Sakura sighed. Of course. The Konoha ninja would have followed the sounds of the fight with the Iwa hunters, and assumed wrong. Her blood would have been everywhere, and she'd left the chakra bind. They'd think she'd been taken. "Let's go." She said tiredly. She was going to have a lot of explaining to do when they reached Konoha.

Deidara didn't move. He was staring at the bird.

"What's wrong?" She asked. He didn't seem like the type to mourn over abandoning his creations.

"I'm not used to just leaving them, yeah. It's been years since I didn't blow one up."

"We can't. It will attract a lot of Konoha ninja. The type that don't ask questions first." Sakura looked at the bird. "We can't risk it"

It did seem like a waste, but they were too close to the ninja village. Nearby patrols would probably assume Konoha was being attacked and kill without hesitation.

Deidara nodded, still looking slightly disconcerted, lagging behind a little. They didn't have time for this, she thought with irritation, though she found it oddly endearing how torn he looked; his body turned towards Konoha, but his head frequently looking back towards the bird.

* * *

They were just a mile from Konoha. They had paused, looking at the village from the mountain surrounding it. It looked quiet, which meant it would be easier to enter without disturbance; many people would want to know what an Akatsuki member was doing in their village.

Sakura looked up at him, trying to read the vaguely troubled expression on his features.

"I hope you have a plan, for your sake. There are a lot of people in this village with a grudge against you." She warned him, choosing her words carefully.

"Are you worrying about me, hm?" He teased, though he didn't seem to be paying much attention, his eyes focused on the distant houses.

Sakura didn't bother to reply. She merely looked at him sadly; this may be the last time she ever saw him if negotiations didn't go well. She jumped off the edge of the steep edge, using her chakra to slide down the rock face quickly. She heard Deidara doing the same, and they hit the ground lightly, quietly.

It took barely a minute to reach the gates, the tall protective structures seeming more ominous than ever before to Sakura. They were open, Izumo and Kotetsu staring ahead tiredly. Kotetsu noticed her and gave a weary wave as they passed through unhindered. Tsunade must have been overworking those two, Sakura thought. They didn't even pay any attention to Deidara.

"Isn't your security a bit lax, yeah?" Deidara muttered to her once they were out of the earshot of the two guards. She pretended not to hear him, knowing he was right.

"Just be polite. Shishou's got a nasty temper this early."She advised. Although it would be funny to watch, she knew it wouldn't be in Deidara's interest to be punched through the wall during his talk with the Hokage.

He gave a 'Hn' and smiled at her, though Sakura wasn't ever so reassured. She had a feeling the whole event was not going to go according to anyone's plans.

* * *

**A/N: ** I finally managed to update and I'm sorry for keeping you all waiting! Things are less busy now so updates should be back to normal.

You know what to do, my cutest lovely readers! ^-^ Tell me your favourite parts!

* * *


	9. Dreams

**Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto.**

"Dreams are illustrations... from the book your soul is writing about you." –Marsha Norman

* * *

The quietness of the morning was almost eerie; the citizens of Konoha had yet to awaken and the stillness was unnerving. Sakura found herself unconsciously lightening her footsteps against the rasping grit beneath them. From Deidara's silence, she knew he felt it too; they were on the brink of something.

Shaking her head, she quickened her pace slightly. She just wanted to get this over with. This stupid, unplanned mission had dragged on too long and she'd begun to forget what her life was normally like.

The Hokage tower, like in all hidden villages, lay at the centre. Its looming structure that Sakura usually found protective and reassuring now seemed ominous and foreboding. As they approached the large building, two guards at the entrance became visible. Their footsteps must have alerted the guards to their presence, as they were gazing at Sakura and Deidara in confusion and unease. The younger guard especially stared at Deidara with hate and apprehension in his eyes, gripping his tall weapon with white knuckles. It was unlikely that the guard recognised Deidara as the pictures in the bingo book showed only long-distance shots of Deidara, usually with his cloak pulled high and his scope covering half of his face. No, the reason for the guard's attitude probably had more to do with the fact that Deidara practically oozed self-confidence and danger. The battle experience amassed in his blue eyes would intimidate all but the most seasoned (or stupid) shinobi. That and the fact that Deidara's unusually shaped eyes marked him out as foreign.

"We need to see the Hokage. It's very important." Sakura told them, feeling smug as they saluted her. Her position as the Hokage's apprentice, although tough, definitely had its benefits. Even though she was a woman, she was shown respect. This in itself was a novelty in Fire Country, but shinobi were exceptions to many a rule, though sexism was definitely still an issue.

"But... Him? He's neither a citizen nor shinobi of Konoha. Do you have any papers for him?" The younger guard gestured towards the blonde artist with contempt, torn between his deference towards Sakura and his poorly masked loathing for foreigners. Konoha ninja could be very discriminating to ninja of other villages, the constant threat of betrayal making them spiteful.

Sakura shook her head. Papers? She'd like to see what kind of paperwork would let Deidara into the heart of her ninja village. Shizune would have a heart attack.

"He could be a threat to both the Hokage and the village. We'll have to disarm him before he's allowed inside." The older guard silenced a protest from the other with a stern glare before motioning towards Deidara's waist, from which hung Sakura's kunai and the clay pouch.

Deidara sighed. He'd only just gotten his clay back and he already had to part with it? He shrugged off his cloak sulkily before unstrapping his makeshift clay pouch from his belt. He tossed it to the younger guard who started a little before catching it clumsily, still glaring with hatred at the artist, edging away with his hands scrunched into tight fists. The young guard didn't want Deidara where he couldn't see him, Sakura noticed, though she supposed it was entirely reasonable. The calm, yet extremely dangerous presence Deidara exuded would put most people on edge.

"Could you..." The guard with the greying hair held up some rope awkwardly, unsure of how to ask Deidara to allow himself to be tied up. "I need to put these on you..."

Sakura saw Deidara's countenance harden, his posture turn defensive. She knew he really disliked being tied up, and things were likely to turn ugly if restraints were enforced. She would rather not see Deidara hurt, though it was more likely that a large proportion of Konoha's best would be down before Deidara was subdued. The Hokage would definitely be in a bad mood. Sakura stepped towards the guard, doing her best to look authoritative.

"That won't be necessary. He's under my control. My captive. I'll take responsibility for him." She assured them firmly, one hand on her hip. She heard Deidara make a strangled coughing sound, and she smiled inwardly. If they got a chance to talk later, then she was sure he'd have something to say about that comment. For now though, it seemed, he was willing to play along.

"But sir, I don't think that's-"

"Are you questioning my skill as a ninja? Is this an insult to my honour?" The expression she wore was the one Naruto sometimes had nightmares about.

Deidara watched with mild interest, a light smile forming as he saw both guards physically recoil with fear at the sight of the angry kunoichi. Sakura really was something, both in the field and out it seemed. He hid his smile as Sakura turned to look at him, just in case her anger wasn't an act.

"Well, are you coming?" She raised an eyebrow and nodded towards the entrance before going through before him, trusting him to follow her. Still, he hesitated. Her demeanour reminded him unmistakably of the time when she had threatened to smash his brains into a wall. Noticing his dithering, she paused to look back at him, a discerning, yet somewhat light-hearted expression on her feminine features.

"What's wrong, are you chicken?" She called softly, smirking a little. He knew she was thinking about their time by the river. The short time they shared in which life had seemed playful and fun, where there had been no fear or expectations. With her prompt, he finally realised why he felt so tense. He was worried about _her._ If his plan was a little wide of the mark, if any aspect of it went askew, she could have the whole of Akatsuki at the door of her country, with a grudge.

Wait. This was not a usual progression of thought. He had never doubted himself before, never in his entire life. Before he met Sakura, he'd always had a lot confidence in himself and his art. Though, looking back on where this confidence had gotten him in the past, perhaps it could be considered overconfidence. He had blown himself up as a result of a mood-swing after all.

"Deidara?" She sounded concerned, her large eyes seeking his out for reassurance that he was alright.

"I'm right behind you, yeah." He smiled, though it didn't seem natural, even to him. She frowned at him, but carried on up the steep wooden stairs, her sandals clunking with every step. He couldn't help but follow.

Could he really put her and her village at risk? He knew what he would have said just one week ago. Yes. Hell yes he could. If it got him where he wanted, why should he be worrying about some little kunoichi and her friends? Hadn't his motto always been to take what he wanted, and to live with nothing to lose? Maybe that's why he'd been so overconfident. Even his own life had meant very little to him.

They reached the top of the long spiral staircase after a small, but very nervous silence. They continued along a short, wide corridor. Sakura stopped suddenly, causing him to almost bang into her, his chest coming into contact with her back.

"Is something wrong, hm?" He asked, bemused by her strange behaviour. He placed a hand on her tense shoulder and tugged her round to face him. He was surprised at the expression she was making. Her eyes were lowered, and she was biting her plump lower lip. He felt one of her hands reach up to grab the material of his shirt, pulling at it lightly. She shook her head, and released the lip she had been holding hostage with her teeth.

"Be very careful. Something's not right with Konoha at the moment." She looked up at him with trouble in her eyes, and it occurred to him that perhaps this young, seemingly naive girl had far too many burdens for someone so small. "The Hokage is the only official you can trust. If anyone else attempts to make you a deal, you should refuse it for your own safety."

With those words of warning, she soundlessly moved away from him and continued walking without looking back. Stunned, he fell in step behind him once more. So even Konoha had political problems it seemed.

Seconds later, they reached an average-looking door, upon which Sakura gave two sharp knocks.

"Enter." Came a hoarse, broken voice. Sakura pushed open the door with a small click, head bowed slightly as she entered the room.

Deidara was almost blinded by the intensity of the light assaulting his eyes, and found himself squinting at the silhouette of a woman, framed by the bright sky.

"Sakura!" He heard a chair clatter to the floor and quick footsteps on the wooden floor. He threw an arm up to shield his vision from the sun, his eyes adjusting slowly. A tall woman was embracing Sakura, her head resting upon the small medic's pink one, her eyes closed.

"Shishou!" Sakura sounded surprised, but happy all the same, as she hugged the older woman back. "I have so much to tell you."

"There are things I must tell you also, I'm afraid. I assume your story will have some explanation as to why the Akatsuki isn't wearing a chakra bind." Tsunade's slumped demeanour had tightened, and she had shifted so she was standing tensed between Deidara and her student. "If you're planning anything ..." The ferocious look in her eyes made Deidara shudder. Just a little.

"There's something I'd like to discuss with you. Hokage-sama. That's all, yeah." He bowed his head slightly, but kept his eyes trained on Tsunade's stance. He wasn't stupid, but he could be polite if it was called for.

"I see." Her eyes were still narrowed. "Ibiki!" She called. A quick blur became the man himself, one knee touching the floor, head bowed with respect.

"What can I-" He stopped mid-sentence as he saw Deidara, a deep frown forming on his scarred, wrinkled face.

"Take him to the underground cells. I want him under heavy guard." Tsunade's command rang clearly through the oppressive atmosphere. Ibiki snapped his fingers and was instantly joined by two more figures, anbu masks in place. "I don't want us to be disturbed. See to it that nobody enters the tower."

"Understood."

"You're putting me in a cell? You don't want to talk to me, hm?" Deidara looked offended.

"Don't be so impatient, brat. I want to hear it from my apprentice first." Tsunade had returned to her desk, tapping a pen against the edge of it angrily. It seemed the elation of Sakura's return had worn off, and her foul mood had returned. "Will you be good, or do I have to send someone to babysit?"

Deidara glared. Being patronised was almost as bad as being tied up.

"Hokage-sama, maybe it's best if we don't-"

"I'll behave." Deidara replied. His voice was strained with the effort it took not to swear and threaten to kill them all for underestimating him. "I trust you'll show me equal respect once you're finished here, yeah."

Sakura was surprised, to say the least. Things were going far better than she'd expected, although Tsunade's mood didn't seem to be helping matters. She hadn't known Deidara could be so... Self-possessed.

"Fine, Akatsuki, I'll hear you out, but don't expect much. Konoha doesn't make deals with criminals."

Sakura watched as he was led away, Ibiki leading and the two anbu either side.

"Now Sakura, what's this all about?"

* * *

The cell he'd been placed in was cramped but clean, and Deidara knew he'd seen far worse. There was even a small bed built into the wall, though the white sheets felt stiff and starchy. He hadn't slept in two days, but he was in far too impatient of a mood to try now.

He'd been issued with a new chakra bind, since the old one had been forgotten. This one was thankfully not pink, instead just a plain silver chain around his neck. He fiddled with it absentmindedly.

How long had he been in here and Sakura up there? He knew it couldn't be very long, as there was a bright shard of morning light shining through a crack near the ceiling. If it had been hours, then the angle of the light would have changed.

Staring up at the ceiling from his position on the bed, hands behind his head, he wondered what Sakura was doing. Were they talking about him right now? He wondered how much she'd tell the Hokage. Would she tell her about their kiss? Deidara smiled a little at the memory. Her reactions had been so innocent; the sweet tentativeness of the first few seconds, before she gave in to him and closed her eyes. He'd loved the way her breathing had stopped for a moment, so full of naive surprise. He knew she'd been affected by him, and he loved it.

Deidara was no stranger to women being affected by him, however. Being both a ninja and having all the mystique of a criminal organisation made him popular, though it probably helped that he was incredibly good looking. He had never suffered from a cold bed. In the past, whenever he'd needed a woman's touch, there had always been someone willing and eager, someone to fill in the gaps between missions. He knew they only saw the ninja, the body and his skills, but that was okay. They served each other's purposes. He'd never _talked_ to those women. He'd never told any of them about his past, or his present for that matter. Not like Sakura. He'd not spoken a word about his past to anybody except Leader. It was a part of being a missing nin; you didn't ask and you didn't tell. Your problems were your own, even if you had temporary allies. No, Sakura was something else altogether, though he still didn't know what.

Approaching footsteps interrupted his thoughts, and he sat up as the door was unbolted with a loud screech before swinging open to reveal the Hokage, escorted by the two anbu from earlier, but no Sakura. He felt slightly disappointed.

"You had something to say Akatsuki?"

* * *

Sakura leaned back on her soft, plush bed putting her hands behind her head and sighing. The conversation with Tsunade had gone well. Sakura had recounted all the events of the past few days - leaving out a few irrelevant details of course. Tsunade couldn't possible benefit from knowing about Sakura sharing her first kiss with him, or the dark features of his past in Iwagakure. No, some things were best left unsaid. The comfort Deidara had given her on the night of her first kill wasn't mentioned, not because Sakura was embarrassed, but somehow it felt far too private to share. She had, however, told Tsunade how Deidara had saved her, even when the chakra bind wasn't influencing him. At that, her Shishou's eyebrows had risen slightly, before returning to her perpetual frown.

Sakura supposed Deidara was being questioned by Tsunade now, and she knew she'd do a month of night-shifts just to overhear their conversation. However, Deidara was out of her hands now and evidently none of her business, so why was she still thinking about that man? Because he was a damned mystery, that's why. Why on earth had he willingly escorted them back to Konoha, when he could have turned tail and ran back to Akatsuki? He was either very stupid, or there was a larger game afoot. Sakura couldn't help but suspect the latter.

Through her shishou, she had found out that her team had still not yet returned. They were still out looking for Sasuke. Since Kakashi's last correspondence about Sakura, there had been nothing. They had three more days to return before another squad, probably including her, was sent to retrieve them. That wasn't all; the explanation for Tsunade's crushed appearance turned out to be the death of Jiraiya. While the rest of their allies were away chasing Sasuke, the great Sannin had left alone to protect Konoha from the real threat. Sakura couldn't help but resent Sasuke for this. If he hadn't left, then Jiraiya wouldn't have had to go alone to meet his death. If Naruto, Kakashi, or even Sasuke himself had been with him, then the outcome would probably been very different.

Sakura groaned and turned over violently, stuffing her face into her soft black pillows. She would not get upset. Death was part of life as a shinobi. If anyone should be upset, it wasn't her.

_Poor Shishou..._

Sakura rolled over, so she was once again looking over the hairline cracks in her ceiling. She felt her eyes begin to droop and her head start to nod. How could she be this tired? It was only late afternoon.

_She was dreaming again. Another twisted fabrication of her own mind was pulling her in, taking her to the cliffs looking over her own village. Flames were consuming buildings, people fleeing from their homes. She could see the distant shapes of children being trampled by the masses as they tried to escape the destruction. Somehow, through all the monstrosities she could see, she knew everything was going to be okay. He'd come. He'd come to save them. _

_She felt a breeze at her back, though it felt hollow through the shallow construction of her mind. A bone-crushingly tight grip encased her upper arm, though she didn't care about the pain. A kunai was pressed against her neck, pressed so hard that she could feel rivulets of cold blood tickling her chest. She wasn't afraid._

"_He'll come."_

A sharp knocking sounded on Sakura's window, many hours after her dreaming had become dead sleep. She woke slowly, coming out of her slumber in a haze of confusion.

"I'm coming..." She stumbled towards her window, peering blearily at the figure crouched outside in the darkness. It was Naruto. She quickly opened her window, catching her finger on the metal catch.

"Sakura-chan! Are you okay? Tsunade-baachan told me you went home..."

"I'm fine Naruto." She sighed in both tiredness and relief. If Naruto was uninjured, then everybody else would be. He seemed to always get the brunt of the enemies' attacks. "Come in. I take it nobody was hurt."

He nimbly leapt inside, landing on her soft carpet with barely a sound. He turned to face her, and the broken, tired expression on his boyish face made her break a little inside.

"We did it again, Sakura-chan. We were too late, twice! Itachi's dead and we missed Sasuke by minutes." He sat down on the floor, his shoulders hunched around his neck. "I wasn't strong enough to get past that guy... I'm so sorry, Sakura."

She sat down next to him, putting her thin arms around his form, which was shaking ever so slightly.

"Naruto." She stroked his hair, like a mother with her child. "I'm so glad you're safe. I'm so happy to have all the people around me that there are. I consider myself very lucky to have this many friends that I trust. If I lost a single friend as a result of searching for an old one, who betrayed us all, then I can't describe how terrible that would be, Naruto." She smiled as she felt him relax a little.

"Can I stay here tonight?" He mumbled quietly, snuffling a little into his knees like a child.

"You can have the sofa."

* * * * *

Perhaps as a result of her afternoon nap, Sakura felt unable to sleep. She lay on her side, listening to the oddly comforting sounds of Naruto's snores in the next room. Her thoughts were on Deidara. She wanted to know so badly what had transpired between him and her shishou, but was unsure of who to ask, or even if it was her business. Her bedside clock told her it was the very early hours of the morning, so she doubted the Hokage would be awake.

The same questions kept on repeating in her sore mind, denying her rest or peace. Why had he saved her? Why had he been _nice?_ Why on earth had he volunteered to be taken prisoner? Most of all, she wanted to know his motive. His plan.

She sat up. She supposed she would have to ask him herself.

Getting past the guards had been easy. It seemed that rumours of her 'subduing' an S-Class criminal had done wonders for her reputation. They had taken one look at her bed-ruffled hair and the determined glare in her eyes, and parted hastily.

She entered the steel door quickly, closing it behind her with a metal creak. She stood still for a moment, allowing her eyes to get accustomed to the dark. She could hear deep, masculine breathing, and moved towards the sound. She could just about make out his figure, resting sat up against the wall. Deidara was asleep, which Sakura found rather anti-climactic. She smiled, wondering how he could keep on sleeping despite the noise she made coming in. Her smile vanished once his position became entirely visible.

His hands were pulled tight above him, manacled to chains attached to the wall. He wore only his trousers, the shirt she'd given him no longer there. She fumbled along the wall for a switch, and upon finding one, she pushed. When the dim flicker lit the room, she gasped.

"Deidara..." She exclaimed softly.

He had bruises on his ribs, the dark purple colour clearly indicating at least a couple of broken ribs. There were deep welts on his left cheekbone, as if his head had been banged viciously against the floor. That would explain his deep sleep.

She walked over to him, crouching before the beaten body of the vibrant man she had become so unexplainably attached to. She summoned her healing power, and began the work of fixing him up, starting with his ribs. She used her chakra to inspect the damage, before pushing his ribs into place using her hands. He shifted slightly, and she used one of her hands to hold him still at the shoulder, pushing him closer against the wall. She couldn't allow herself to be distracted, so she closed her eyes while she finished mending his broken ribs.

"You always look so pretty when you do that, yeah." His voice was hoarse, but it still managed to send shivers down her spine. She could feel his breath on the top of her head, as she listened to his heart for any irregularities.

"They were going to send another medic to heal you before the morning weren't they? So I wouldn't know." She made a noise of disgust. "That Ibiki. He's scum."

She knew that Ibiki was probably only doing what he thought was best for Konoha, but sometimes he just looked like a sadistic bastard to her.

She moved on to his face, wincing a little as she saw his good looks marred by the dirty cuts. She once again pushed her chakra into his skin, but this time, their eyes locked and she found herself unable to close them, drawn into his deep blue abyss, their vibrancy enhanced by the soft glow of her chakra. She found it impossible to look away until her chakra stopped, the healing complete.

"Why did they do this? I thought you said you'd behave." She found it hard to believe that her village would do something like this without provocation.

"They said..." Deidara swallowed. "They said that they wouldn't grant my request unless I let them perform a mind scan. A complete one."

Sakura gasped. Nobody had ever been subjected to a complete mind scan. Firstly, it wasn't even possible without the participant's complete cooperation. Secondly, it was such a personal, intimate thing that it would be considered only in the most extreme of circumstances. Considering Deidara's past, she wouldn't blame him if he'd kicked up a fuss.

"You must have had one hell of a request then." Sakura sighed and pushed herself away from him, standing up.

"You could say that, yeah." He smiled, though his eyes weren't completely in it.

She reached for the chain holding his manacled hands to the wall, and gave a chakra enhanced tug. The chain came away from the wall at once, showering Deidara with crumbling parts of the wall.

"Sorry." Sakura muttered, though she didn't quite understand the reproachful look on Deidara's face.

"I could have done that hours ago, yeah. I was just behaving." He looked at her disapprovingly.

"I see." She smiled. She'd tell them it was her when she got a chance. "Would you tell me the reason why you're going to such great lengths to be on the Hokage's good side? I can't imagine something so important that you'd let yourself be tied up."

"Well you see, I want..." He paused. "I want to become a citizen of Konoha, yeah."

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**A/N:** My dearest, most beloved readers. I apologise for the huuuge delay. *hides* If it hadn't been for all your support, I doubt I would ever have picked up the keyboard again. Every time I would lose inspiration, another message of encouragement would pop up, and inspire me to keep writing. You are my rocket fuel! *hugs rocket fuel*

Special thanks goes out to Volleys-chan and Seraserastuff, my fellow authors whom I respect greatly.

I really hope the writer's block has gone now...


	10. Confessions in a Dark Room

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

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_"Endure the darkness, for it will show you the stars." ~ Mandino._

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Sakura hadn't known what to reply to that. His words just carried on repeating themselves in her head, still shocking her with their frank sincerity.

"A citizen? But Deidara, why?" She finally managed to form careful, quiet words, sitting down on her knees opposite him.

"I never did finish telling you how I became a missing-nin did I?" He asked, avoiding her gaze slightly, his eyes settling instead on the rough stone floor.

"Deidara are you sure you want to tell me something like that?"

"Think about it Sakura. Who else am I going to tell something like this to, hm? It's not like I've got anybody closer to me than you." He breathed out slowly, finally lifting his head up so she could see his tormented expression. He grinned sardonically, and even though the smile wasn't one of happiness, it still reached his eyes. "Right now, you're the closest thing I've got to a friend, yeah."

Her intake of breath was barely audible over the light hum of electricity and muffled footsteps outside, but he clearly noticed, his eyes flicking cautiously up to hers then down again.

"I think it's time I told someone… And you're the only person I trust."

Sakura shifted a little, moving from her tense position to kneel against the wall, his shoulder inches from her own.

"Alright." She said. "I suppose I can keep a secret."

Tilting his head back, Deidara let out a long sigh. She could see his profile well from this angle, his straight nose and masculine jaw enhanced by the ragged shadows cast by the dim light bulb above them. His eyes were closed, as if he was trying to find the right words to tell her his story. Finally, he began to speak, though his eyes remained shut.

"What I didn't tell you, is that during the Great Shinobi War, nearly my entire clan died, reducing our already small numbers down to single figures. There was a surprise attack on our compound while our best fighters were on missions. Since so many had been called to war, it was mainly just a few elderly people, pregnant women and children left." He paused for a moment, his forehead contracting slightly. "I was one of the lucky ones, yeah."

"By the time I was 9, there were only three of us left; an old crone, my cousin Mei, and me. We were raised as siblings by the village, despite our opposite appearances; she had short dark hair and pale skin, even though our village was so hot. We never developed a bond with the people assigned to care for us, but we were always together. We were both born in the same year, and had the same personal mission; to become stronger and avenge our families. We would train for hours together, mostly taijutsu at first. We trusted each other, which was a luxury most didn't have during those days of betrayal in the aftermath of the war. As a pair, we seemed unbeatable. We were sent on S-rank missions without supervision, always returning successful. We began to learn our clan's most secret justus, taught by our elder. The main focus was on chakra extraction, or transfer I suppose. Using our hands, we could extract massive quantities of chakra at once through the victim's blood. Just a single bite from our kekkai-genkai could see the life sucked out of an enemy in seconds. The technique required close range fighting to get close enough to get hold of the enemy, so we worked hard to become great.

"That all changed once I developed the second stage of the kekkai-genkai. There was a huge taboo associated with it, yeah. The village which had spoiled me and needed me so much before seemed to turn away in disgust. They took me off active duty and placed me in strict isolation. They monitored my physical development and declared me unfit to be a ninja. After that, my chakra was kept drained so there wouldn't be a repeat of the disaster my grandfather caused before I was born. After a year of being locked away, I couldn't figure out why they were bothering to keep me alive. I wasn't exactly a cooperative prisoner. I couldn't stand being locked inside. Even if I wasn't any use as a ninja, I still wanted to live. I injured the guards on so many occasions that they eventually just put restraints on me permanently."

Sakura winced. That would explain his extreme dislike of being tied up. She remembered his fury back at the inn, and internally vowed to never tie him up again if she could help it.

"Finally, I asked one of the guards straight out why they hadn't killed me yet. He laughed. He told me that the only reason they were keeping me alive, was so my clan didn't die out. They were waiting until Mei was old enough, then they would use us, willing or not, to start a new generation of 'weapons'. It was then that I realised that I hated my village.

"I bided my time, going over the chakra-leeching techniques over and over in my mind, hoping I could still pull it off. It was a Thursday when I made my move; I knew they were always two guards short on a Thursday. I complained of chest pains, and given my condition, they believed me. They couldn't afford to lose their last chance at a pure bloodline, so they removed my restraints for treatment. I took them by surprise and bit the guard holding me with my hand. I drained all of his chakra, and used it to escape with an earth jutsu, taking the guard with me. I took him to the ruins of the old compound, where I made him tell me about Mei. He told me she was living in the centre of the village, being watched.

"For the first time in years, I was using my chakra again. Leaving the man unconscious, I went to find her. I used a henge to change into the guard I'd just knocked out, though it took a few tries before I got it right after all that time. According to the guard, she was living in a small civilian-style house, which I wouldn't have expected from her. She always said that when she was old enough to live on her own, she'd live in a traditional shinobi compound, with her own training grounds; God knows we'd been paid enough.

"I knocked on the door, apprehensive, anxious to see the only person in the world I still trusted. I knew she'd be different; maybe more hardened or suspicious- as people become when they grow up, but my expectations didn't prepare me for what came next. The door opened and a middle-aged woman stood before me with a suspicious frown directed at me.

'You're not here to take her for more tests are you? I keep on telling you, she seems worse every time after your "treatment."' Her hands were on her hips and disapproval obvious in her demeanor.

"Stunned, for a moment I wasn't sure what to say to that, before I saw a pale, frightened face peering out from behind the woman. It was Mei, my small, sweet cousin. Her eyes looked wide and empty, as if she'd been vacuumed out and replaced with some timid animal. Anger was bubbling up inside me; they'd been messing with her head, and who knows what else. She had probably protested against the idea of being used to repopulate the clan, and this had been the village's retaliation. I forced myself to remain calm.

'No, I'd just like to check her progress if that's alright with you both.' I said, surprised at my own smoothness. 'May I come in?'

"She led me into a small room with two armchairs, pushing Mei into one of them and telling her to stay put. Mei sat unnaturally still, her eyes unfocused and dead, her back slumped, the complete opposite of her old graceful posture. Dropping the henge, I asked her quietly if she remembered who I was, but she wouldn't even look at me. I called her name, but there was no response. I was getting worried. The officials would have found out about my escape by now, and would have guessed where I'd be; she was my only living relative and friend, so I had minutes at the most to get her out of there.

'Mei, we have to go. I'm taking you to a safe place, yeah.' I told her, but she just stared blankly at the wall. I gave up on trying to get through to her, and threw her over my shoulder. I thought I could make a run for it, before four armed guards burst through the door. One of them kicked me in the side before I had a chance to react, sending both me and Mei flying into the wall. She was knocked unconscious by the impact and my ankle was crushed. They caught me off guard with a short-range explosive tag, giving me that scar on my face, the one you healed. I could still move, but only just.

"My chest difficulties were beginning to slow me down, and I found it hard to fight back, my moves slowed by lack of practice and fatigue. I managed to knock the guards back enough to get to the window, meaning to get away and return for Mei, when I heard her voice, calling my name like a lost lamb.

'Deidara.' I turned around and to my surprise, there she was, sitting up and lucid as she ever was, though her eyes remained full of fear and confusion. "Deidara-nii, take me with you.'

"I'd never felt so full of frustration in my entire life. There she was, the only person I could call my home, and I had to leave her. She was too far away, and I couldn't reach her outstretched hand to take her away from the people who wanted to use her for their own gain. The guards were quickly reforming, with kunai and katana this time. I'd troubled my village too much, and they were aiming to kill.

"Before the guards attacked again, I told her that I'd come back for her, hoping that we'd both be strong enough to wait until escape for us was possible. I forced myself to leave her, jumping through the window and being glad of the distraction of my wounds."

He paused again, opening his eyes to stare at the flaky walls.

"I still dream about it, yeah. Her face, when she thought I'd betrayed her."

He remained quiet for about a minute before she couldn't stand the anticipation.

"So did you?" She was amazed at his composure, his strained face betraying very little of the pain he must have experienced. "Did you go back for her?"

"I did yeah, though it wasn't for two weeks." He shifted slightly and his shoulder ended up pressed close against her own as a result. "I took shelter in a cave about seven miles away from the border, though I still don't know how I managed the journey with a sprained ankle and a back full of shuriken. I treated my wounds as best I could, using my stolen clothes as makeshift bandages. Armed with a kunai and survival training, it wasn't hard to find enough to eat.

"I picked a night when it was raining to return. Though it felt like bad luck, it would make my presence far less detectable, making my job easier. The plan was to grab Mei and run, not stopping until we were safe. I knew it was dangerous, but I had nothing else.

To my surprise, the security around her house was nonexistent, not even a sole guard patrolling the block of houses. Perturbed, I quickly infiltrated the building, checking for traps as I went, but there was nothing. That wasn't all; something was wrong. There were no chakra presences in the house. Not a single living being. Just to check, I opened every door in every room, but there wasn't a sign of either Mei or the civilian woman.

"My original plans no good, I decided to check the village records. This would be far more risky than I had anticipated, but it was all I could do to find Mei. I couldn't leave with nothing.

"There were three guards keeping watch over the building, but they were evenly separated which made them easy to deal with. I snuck up behind each one in turn, knocking them unconscious with the back of my kunai. The locks posed little difficulty, as I had been trained in espionage and stealth techniques from a very early age. The only problem I was presented with was finding what I wanted in the huge mass of shelves containing various scrolls and documents. Conscious of the time I had, I quickly rifled through the shelves and picked up anything that bore my family name 'Kurotsuchi' and stashed it in my bag. Not wanting to spend any more time than necessary in the village which had imprisoned me, I took the bag full of documents back to the cave, experiencing no trouble getting away; it seemed as if the higher ups hadn't expected me to return.

"In the candlelight of the cold cave, I discovered many things. I found out that Mei had disappeared the day after I had seen her. She was missing without an explanation, and not even the best trackers had been able to find her so far. Although I was glad that she had gotten out of the village, I was worried for her safety; there were other people than our village who would use her without hesitation, like Orochimaru or Akatsuki, though I wasn't aware of them at the time. I knew I wouldn't be able to rest until she was safe, but at the time all I could do was gather information.

"What I found next changed the way I'd fight forever. There were three scrolls, each sealed with my grandfather's name. I found a series of techniques, many of them encompassing what me and Mei had been taught years ago, but the last scroll had handwritten instructions on the forbidden techniques my grandfather had used in battle. They were mainly about how to create earth-based explosions, infusing chakra into mud and dirt to create very versatile bombs. While these had been very useful, I knew I could make them better. I spent the next month training, though I couldn't stay in the cave any longer; I had been lucky to escape detection so far given my proximity to the village.

"It took me two days to find a place deserted enough to train, though it wasn't exactly suitable for habitation. Just past Suna's border, I found a small oasis surrounded by sand for miles and miles. Using both the scrolls and what nature had given me, I began to refine my grandfather's jutsu, which taught me how to make the most of my abilities while allowing for my new weakness at taijutsu. I won't go into detail, but the result of my long training is what you saw yesterday. I can make mobile explosives, which can be used long-range."

He smiled, and Sakura released a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding.

"I can even make fireworks, yeah. Really big ones. Much bigger than the one I showed you."

"I'd love you to show me them someday." She told him sincerely.

"Count on it, yeah." He looked sideways at her, his boyish grin betraying nothing of his dark past.

Sakura was still reeling from the story, full of questions and revelations, but one was at the foremost of her mind.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but did you ever find her again?"

"No. I haven't seen her since the day I left for the first time, but I'm sure she's alive, yeah. Someone with a kekkai genkai as rare as that is just too valuable to kill."

"I hope you're right, I really do. I would have loved to meet her."

"I thought you'd say that, yeah. She would have liked you a lot." Deidara's smile was almost abashed, and he fiddled with the end of his hair subtly. Sakura knew that what she said next would probably not be appreciated, but she knew that unless he went through with it, he was unlikely to live the life he'd always wanted. She knew that if she didn't push him nothing would change. He'd be running forever, elusive and untouchable until the day he was caught off guard.

"I think you should go ahead with the mind scan, Deidara."

His reaction was instantaneous. At first, his entire body stiffened, before his head turned slowly to face her. An unreadable expression formed on his face, and for the first time, she felt genuinely afraid of him.

"After I told you about everything... About my past, about Mei, you still think that?" He had moved so he was in front of her, crouched like a predator.

"It's not because of-"

"Is that the way everybody from Konoha thinks? Maybe I should reconsider being a citizen after all..."

"That's not true! I just know that if it were me in your place, I'd do it." She stumbled breathlessly, hoping he'd understand. "I'm sorry if it hurts you to hear that."

"No, it's alright. I think I know why you still think it's acceptable to poke around in someone's mind." His words were not reassuring. He moved closer to her, so his lips were right next to her ear.

"It's because you have nothing to be ashamed of."

Sakura gasped, because he was touching her neck. His gentle fingers skimmed over her collar bone with no force or violence, but his intentions in the actions made it feel different to the time at the river, or together in the air. She knew that this time, he touched her softly with his anger.

"Maybe I should give you something to be ashamed of, yeah..."

She felt her hands being moved higher, pressed almost uncomfortably hard against the cold stone wall of the cell, but she didn't feel like moving, like pushing him away. Instead she closed her eyes and tried to understand what was happening. She could feel his slow breath against her cheek, and the hot presence of his half naked body pressed so close to hers was intoxicating. She had to fight to keep a clear mind.

"Deidara," she asked, almost pleaded with parted lips. "Deidara what are you-"

Her question was cut off by a hand covering her mouth, and she opened her eyes to find him staring at her intently, the same predatory expression on his masculine features.

"You've really pissed me off, kitten." His gaze flickered from her body to meet her wide eyes, and she realised for the first time just how physically dominant he was.

She made a small noise of protest beneath his hand, her efforts to resist feeling futile against his overpowering wild allure.

"Shh..." He said. "You wouldn't want the guards to come in and catch us would you, hm?"

Seamlessly, Deidara replaced the hand covering her mouth with his own lips, and she forgot what she had been trying to say. She forgot about how much trouble she could get into, and why this sort of thing was forbidden. All she could think about at that moment was the taste of his lips and the electrifying touch of his skin on hers. His lips moved against her slowly, but with a force that made her breathless.

She felt one hand caressing up and over her ribs, and another cupped her cheek, bringing her closer to him and deepening their kiss. It didn't even occur to her that her hands were free and she could escape; the thoughts in her mind were all of how his hair felt so soft and his skin so smooth. The bare skin of his back felt wonderful beneath her fingertips, perspiring ever so slightly. She realised that her legs were wrapped around him, and she wondered for a moment how they'd become so entangled. She couldn't remember moving to encourage such an intimate position, but the feeling of his powerful body between her thighs was one she definitely liked.

Her last string of rational thought vanished when his hand slipped under her top and found one of her small aroused peaks. The mouth enclosed her nipple tightly, teasing vaguely with it's tongue before sucking suddenly, prompting a lustful response. A high, sharp keening sound escaped her and she arched her body towards him, lifting herself off the wall shamelessly.

"Dei-" Her words were again cut off by his recapturing her lips, making her moan into his mouth immodestly.

In the back of her mind, she knew this was going too far. She was letting herself get swept away, and she was betraying her village in the process. She was fighting a losing battle with no hope of getting the upper hand, so she did the only thing she could; she punched him, using a little chakra to send him flying into the opposite wall. She had to make him listen to her. She wanted him to be happy, and if the only way to do it was to pin him down and make him listen then she would do it.

She walked quickly over to his recovering form, determined not to let him overpower her again.

"What the hell Sakura?" He was standing up and wiping his lower lip, which was bleeding.

Giving him no time to defend himself, she pushed him hard in the chest, sending him colliding once more into the wall. This time she caught him in the same hold he'd had her in, his wrists pinned either side of his head.

"Listen to me Deidara," she commanded, looking up at him fiercely. "I may be young, but I'm not so incredibly naive that I don't know what a mind-scan means. You'll have no secrets, no refuge in your mind. I know this. I know that even your most private memories will be dissected by someone else and you can't protect them. I know because I've had one."

Sakura took a deep breath, still holding Deidara's wrists. He could have easily broken her hold by now, but he seemed to be willing to listen. She chanced a brief look at his face, as his silent response to her admission was unnerving.

He looked stunned. His eyes were wide and apologetic.

"I know you have many secrets, more than your fair share of skeletons in your closet, but isn't that worse? Isn't being controlled and limited by your past far more terrible than this? I think that if you went through with it, if you trusted Konoha, it would help you to be free." She was nervous, but her words were carefully thought out.

"You had one? Why, yeah?" He looked uncertain, as if the rules of the game had changed and he had been left behind.

"It was last year. The Hokage's advisors suggested it. You already know that I was on the same team as Uchiha Sasuke. They were insinuating that my loyalties lay with him, instead of with my village." She lowered her gaze, but did not release him from her hold."To be honest, I didn't know the truth myself. If he did something terrible and I was ordered to kill him, I didn't know if I could, but when someone else was in my mind searching for the answer, it came out all on it's own. I was so relieved to know my capabilities, and that I could do what was necessary to protect my important people, my village. I didn't mind that someone had seen the real me, with no excuses, because they don't just see the parts which you hate about yourself, they also see all the good things you've done; all your good intentions. They don't judge you, Deidara."

"You're forgetting something, Sakura." His voice was low and serious. "I've done a lot more bad things than you and I'm not a good person at heart."

"You'll be surprised what you find out when you're looking at yourself through someone else's eyes."

She'd slowly been loosening her hold on Deidara's wrists unconsciously the whole time she'd been talking, so she flinched a little when he took his right hand out of her hold to brush a strand of hair away from her face before settling on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry if I scared you Sakura. I didn't think, yeah." His voice held a hint of regret.

"Don't worry about it." She said, leaning unconsciously into his touch, enjoying the feel of his slightly rough hands against her cheek.

The magnetism between them was unmistakable, and she found it hard to remember what they'd just been talking about, seeing only his lips, still slightly swollen from their previous activities.

"I should go." She managed to mutter, but made no move to do so. She was thinking more about the pattern Deidara's fingers were tracing on the base of her neck.

"You probably should. You don't want to be getting into trouble on my account, yeah."

The blood on his lip from the blow she had given him still remained, so she used her thumb to wipe it away, just managing to keep eye contact, though the glowing blush on her cheeks made it difficult not to look back down at her feet. She was about to summon her healing chakra, when his hand caught her wrist.

"Leave it, yeah." _It reminds me of you._

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Sakura returned home in time to make Naruto a traditional breakfast, finding blessed distraction in performing the mundane household tasks.

When Naruto woke up, he was pleasantly surprised to find a rather domesticated-looking Sakura pouring tea in her small, clean kitchen.

"This is nice." He said, ruffling his messy hair as he came out of the living room looking like he'd been dragged through a hedge backwards. "Has something happened?"

"Nothing's happened, Naruto." She smiled at his dozy gratitude and handed him his tea, which he looked at with astonishment.

"No seriously Sakura-chan, did you kill Sasuke or something?" He looked at her worriedly before her amused smile dissolved his suspicions. He laughed and took a sip of his tea.

"I thought that with all the ramen you eat, you need a little real nutrients if you ever want to become Hokage."

"Vegetables. I see." His nose wrinkled slightly in distaste, before he gave her his trademark grin and muttered "Itadakimasu."

"Itadakimasu," she replied, before tucking into the selection of plates before them.

After a few minutes of silent eating, broken only by Naruto's noises of appreciation, Sakura thought it would be a good time to mention Deidara.

"Do you remember that Akatsuki guy? The one who blew himself up?"

"Mhm," Naruto nodded, his mouth full of rice.

"He wants to be of help to Konoha. He wants to become a citizen."

Naruto swallowed quickly.

"Seriously? A citizen? No way Baa-chan will go for that."

"She already has. If he consents to a mind-scan that is."

"Ah. That's unusual isn't it?" He returned to eating, thoughtfully chewing his rice.

"Konoha is rather down on manpower at the moment. Deidara could be a huge asset to the village, the information he can provide us with, not to mention his skills in battle. We could really use him."

"You sound like you're making a case for him."

She bit her lip pensively, considering her response.

"I suppose I am. He reminds me very much of both you and Sasuke." She grinned, baiting him. "Only the good parts though."

"No way Sakura-chan! You like him more than me?!"

"Hurry up and finish your rice. I want to train with you."

* * *

It was good conditions for training; the sun was clouded over but the air was dry. The field was firm and hard, which would give them a good opportunity to develop their taijutsu.

Naruto looked a little apprehensive about their training session, as they'd never trained against each other without Kakashi or Sai before.

"Ne, Sakura-chan? You're not going to be using your scary fists are you?"

"No Naruto," she smiled, "I'm not going to use them. We haven't trained enough together for it to be safe. As for you... No kage-bunshins or huge summons please."

At this he looked a little disheartened, but nodded in agreement.

There was no starting pistol, so she charged when she felt ready, flipping out two blunt training kunai and sending them ahead of her. He dodged easily, jumping back a few feet and sliding along the ground. She darted to the side and flung another kunai, driving him further back. The second his balance was off she leapt forward, coming at him with her gloved fists quickly, striking like a vicious feline of some sort. His blocks came up fast, and she couldn't quite get a hit in, so she used the momentum from his block to retreat back, coming to a skidding halt ten metres away. She blocked the small rain of kunai and shuriken that he sent after her easily with her own kunai, enjoying the sharp sound of metal hitting metal.

She found keeping up with Naruto easier than she'd anticipated; although everything still seemed lightning fast, she found her reflexes kicking in more than ever, making dodging and blocking second nature.

She was especially surprised at her own development when a trap launched five shuriken at her from the side. The first three were too wide to hit her, so she didn't bother to block them, but the other two were at just at the right angle to catch out of the air, Kakashi style.

"Whoa Sakura-chan," Naruto looked impressed, which both pleased and annoyed her. "You've gotten really good since we last trained as a team. You're so fast!"

"It's just experience, I guess." She shrugged. It seemed that the mission, despite the ordeal that it had been, had at least boosted her skills. "You're still miles ahead of me Naruto."

He smiled at her, and the smile seemed to hold a lot of meaning. She knew that he regretted her always having to take a backseat, but also that he was sorry for how alone she'd been as a result of his training.

"I'm glad things are better for you Sakura-chan. I really mean it."

"Thank you Naruto. I think that goes for both of us though, doesn't it?"

"I suppose it does."

Their mid-training conversation was interrupted by a loud 'poof' and a grey cloud of smoke. It was Kakashi, crouched absentmindedly in the branches of the large tree above them.

"Ah. Training hard I see." Kakashi seemed to be distracted as usual. "It's always good to train."

"Kaka-sensei, did you want something?" Sakura had learned that he usually needed prompting, or he could be vague and elusive for hours. It could drive a girl insane.

"Yes, actually. How perceptive of you." He scratched the back of his head, ruffling his scarecrow hair. "The Hokage sends her thanks and congratulates you on a job well done. She'd also like to see you in her office about half an hour ago."

The second part of the message didn't phase her; she was perhaps too understanding of Kakashi's shortcomings, especially recently. It was the first part she was having trouble getting her head round. She couldn't think of anything she'd done recently to call for the Hokage's thanks.

"What am I supposed to have done?" Sakura was perplexed.

"Two things, in fact." Kakashi's gaze was focussed somewhere above her head. "Firstly, getting Deidara-kun to agree to the mind-scan - nobody knows how you did it. Good work. Also, for volunteering to be the attending medic at the scan. Nobody likes that job."

"I'm confused. What?"

"He agreed to the mind-scan Sakura, and he wants you to be there."

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**A/N:** My wonderful, beloved readers. ^-^ I hope this chapter hasn't disappointed, and that you enjoy an angry Dei-chan as much as I do.

Thank you for all of your support, some of your reviews last chapter made me grin like a Cheshire cat. *Purr purr*

As always, I love hearing from you, even if it's just to tell me to stop being lazy and update!


	11. The Deed Itself

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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"_All things truly wicked start from innocence." ~Ernest Hemingway

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A/N: Hello lovers. ;-) Sorry I'm late.

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Sakura was shocked to say the least. She was sure she'd failed at persuading Deidara to take the scan, but perhaps her methods of persuasion had been more effective than she'd initially thought.

"He wants me there?" She echoed her sensei's words bemusedly.

"A meeting, Sakura. Half an hour ago." He reminded her, before poofing off again without so much as a wave goodbye.

"Shit," she cursed. She really didn't like it when her shishou got mad. "I'm sorry Naruto, we'll have to do this another time."

"It's alright, I understand." He looked a little concerned for her, having experienced much of Tsunade's wrath in the past.

She sprinted the whole two miles from the training grounds to the tower, surprising a few civilians along the way. She dashed up the long flight of winding stairs, before bursting into the office out of breath and apologetic with her hair windswept and messy.

"I'm so sorry I'm-"

"Sakura? You're early!" Exclaimed Tsunade. "It looks like Kakashi's becoming unreliable at being unreliable. I told him the wrong time on purpose."

"Ah," Sakura panted, rubbing her stitch. "It was worth a try I suppose."

"That aside, there are some things I want to talk to you about, mostly concerning that Akatsuki you dragged in."

"Ex-Akatsuki." Sakura said, not keen to let her shishou forget all that Deidara was offering to Konoha.

"Yes, him." Tsunade looked at Sakura over her interlocking fingers, a calculating look in her eyes. "I know you went to visit him early this morning, so don't bother trying to deny it. I don't care. The real problem is, how on earth did you get him to agree to a mind-scan? He seems to know exactly what it entails, yet he's still wiling to consent. What did you do?"

"I just talked to him shishou." Sakura kept her face very still, knowing that any slip or blush could make her shishou even more suspicious.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"A mind-scan is a hell of a lot to go through just for citizenship. Why doesn't he try a less vigilant village, or a civilian town? Why does he have his heart set on Konoha?"

Although Sakura didn't know Deidara's motives, or what her was thinking, she could hazard a good guess.

"I think... I think that freedom is the most important thing to him." Sakura frowned, trying to put her thoughts into words. "He's not the type of person who could become a civilian, or be tied down to a shinobi village that he didn't like. You know, shishou, that Konoha is a place where you're always given a choice. You never force your people to do anything, relying on their 'will of fire' to guide their decisions." Sakura paused, wondering how much of Deidara's past she was comfortable with revealing.

"He can't go back to his old village, but not for the reasons you think. He never betrayed them. It was the other way round." She smiled sadly. "Unusual isn't it?"

Tsunade looked taken aback, and not jut at what Sakura had told her. The way Sakura's face had looked as she described the young man had reminded her unmistakably of herself, many years ago.

"Are you romantically involved with him? Be honest." Her voice was stern, but not condemning.

"R-romantically what?" Sakura stumbled, "shishou, he's an S-class criminal, an Akatsuki for crying out loud!"

"Ex-Akatsuki." Tsunade corrected wryly.

"Isn't that enough?"

"You haven't answered my question." She leaned forward, fixing Sakura with her piercing gaze.

"..."

"Sakura. This is serious."

"To be completely honest, shishou, I don't know what's going on."

"I see." Tsunade stood up, walking away from her desk, and sat down on the chair next to it. "Let me ask you something Sakura. How many couples do you see around Konoha recently? I don't mean people having flings, I mean real _lovers._"

"Not a lot I suppose. Why?"

"No particular reason. How about ninja couples? How many of them do you see?"

Sakura though for a moment, going through all her friends and acquaintances one by one. First was Naruto, unaware of Hinata's infatuation with him, very single. Kakashi-sensei, perpetually single and would probably remain that way until he found somebody very tolerant and durable. There was Sasuke, but she had no idea how his love life was. The only people she could think of who considered 'together' were Anko and Iruka.

"Even less." She replied. It seemed loneliness must be a trend among ninjas.

"Don't you think it's sad?" Tsunade looked at her questioningly, no guile in her eyes.

"I suppose so shishou, but where's this leading?"

"Wouldn't you be happy if someone you cared deeply about found someone who cared for them and would protect them?"

"Of course shishou but-"

"Right then." Tsunade walked back over to the Hokage's desk sitting back down. She looked at Sakura sternly. "I expect to hear nothing of any subordination involving the ex-Akatsuki prisoner. You understand Sakura? I don't want to _hear_ about it."

"Yes, shishou." Sakura did not have a clue what was going on. Her shishou was underhandedly suggesting that she got together with _Deidara_? The world had gone mad.

"Now on to more serious matters. I believe you have volunteered to be the supervising medic for the mind-scan?"

Sakura sighed. Either Deidara or Tsunade had volunteered her for it, but she could think of no reason why she couldn't. She supposed it was in Deidara's interest; another supervisor may neglect their duties just because of who he was, or had been.

"Yes, shishou, that's correct."

"Glad to hear it. You know what's expected of you."

"I do."

"Then you'll be needed at four o' clock tomorrow in the large interrogation room-don't make that face Sakura. It's the only room with the equipment ready at such short notice."

"I'll be there."

* * *

Sakura had gone home and changed into her medic's uniform. It was very similar to her chuunin outfit; a sleeveless zip up and a skirt with slits up each side, only this one was white with no shorts underneath. Sakura felt that the dress-code was still fairly sexist, and disliked wearing the clingy traditional uniform.

The hospital had seemed loud and busy after her week spent with only Deidara and the forest. She kept on jumping whenever anyone called her name, which was frequently.

The patients came thick and fast, all with their own problems, begging her with their pain-filled eyes to help them. Most of the time, she could.

She'd just finished healing the broken arm of a young civilian boy, when she noticed she'd been staring into space for over a minute. She looked down at the little boy, who had confusion plastered all over his young face. She instantly felt guilty for zoning out on him.

"Now what did I tell you to do? Do you remember?" She asked the boy, mock sternness on her face.

"Don't try to keep up with the boys from the ninja academy." He lisped his words slightly.

"Well done," she smiled at him, "you'll be better in no time. Now go and see your mother, she was worried about you."

With that, the boy ran off in the direction of the waiting room, were she saw someone pick him up and lovingly scold him. There was a painful twinge in her heart as she remembered similar interactions with her own mother.

"Jeez Sakura," came a vaguely annoyed yet feminine voice. "You're really out of it. Tough mission?"

Ino was leaning casually against the door frame, arms crossed and grinning.

"How long have you been stood there Ino?"

"About five minutes give or take. I'd probably give."

"I bet you would."

"Hey! Is that meant to be a dig at my generous and loving nature?" Ino grinned, mock offense in her voice.

"Never." Sakura grinned back. "I get off in twenty minutes, are you free?"

"For you, always."

Ino accompanied Sakura home, claiming that they were both in need of some girl time. Ino insisted on stopping at the store to pick up a large bottle of sake, despite Sakura's objections.

"If you're old enough to kill, you're old enough to drink." She quipped, despite it being only four in the afternoon.

Once inside Sakura's small apartment, the pair began to drink, and spill their secrets. Ino told her of her recent romance with a strapping young anbu agent, her eyes lighting up with a happy glow when she spoke his name.

It had been a long time since Sakura had done anything just because she felt like it, but she found herself talking about the mission, despite the strict classification. Under the line-blurring influence of alcohol, she told her friend more than she perhaps should, mentioning no names. She told Ino of the man she'd kissed by the river, the man who'd saved her life. The man she couldn't stop thinking about. With slurred words, she informed her friend of his status as missing-nin and enemy to Konoha.

"Sakura." Ino was serious, all traces of previous lightheartedness had vanished in a second. "I know it must be exciting to have a forbidden sort of thing going on, but really forehead... If he's as dangerous as you say, you're in trouble."

"I'm in very big trouble, pig."

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Ino had left at around eleven, letting Sakura get some rest in preparation for the big day ahead of her. Sakura had been given permission to take the morning off to 'steel herself' for the afternoon, but she didn't want to sit at home worrying. She'd much rather be doing something productive to distract her from the events to come.

Once she'd eaten a balanced breakfast and gotten dressed, the day passed very quickly. Her countless patients blurred into one another, a different face, another wound. She did her best to help them all, but her thoughts kept on drifting back to the sky and the outdoors. She felt cramped and unnerved. Had the hospital always been so small? The roof so low?

She felt apprehensive about the afternoon, about what they'd find in Deidara's mind. If he'd been telling the truth then there shouldn't be any possibility that they'd execute him. It was also unlikely that they'd keep him imprisoned since he would have been proven to be trustworthy. However, if he was found to be lying, or to have any ulterior motives, then he would surely be killed. She tried to reassure herself that this couldn't be the case; he wouldn't let them scan his mind unless he was confident he'd pass, would he?

Attempting to put it out of her mind, she excused herself and stood outside. The day was cloudy, causing moist precipitation to form sparkling droplets in her hair. She breathed in the cold damp air with relief, feeling better with no whitewashed roof hanging over her head.

"Nervous?" Asked a familiar, lazy voice.

"Kaka-sensei!" It was rare for her elusive mentor to stop by just to talk. "Is something wrong?"

"Not particularly." He gave her his one-eyed smile. "I just came by to see how my most reliable student is doing." He leapt down lightly from his seat on the wall. "I thought I'd remind you that you're a good medic. Have a pastry."

He offered her a paper bag, which she accepted with bewilderment and looked inside. It was an apple turnover.

"Thank you sensei."

"I can't stop, I'm late for something. Probably a meeting," he told her with a wave, before strolling off leisurely towards the Hokage's tower, hands deep in his pockets.

"That man..." Sakura smiled and shook her head.

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The descent to the underground interrogation chambers was never a pleasant one, made worse today by the overpowering anxiousness in the back of Sakura's mind. Every step took her deeper into Konoha's tunnels, darkness pooling in every stale, airless corner of the passage, despite the weakly flickering electric lights above her. She tried not to think of the ghost stories she'd exchanged with Naruto over campfires, tried not to think of the men she'd killed creeping up behind her to exact vengeance.

The further down the grey stone steps she went, the colder the air became, her breath turning to fog, the icy chill lingering in her lungs. The soft tapping of her feet upon the stone gave her something besides her fears upon which to concentrate, and she counted them, grateful for the small distraction of abstract numbers.

She was very glad when she finally saw a door with two guards standing outside. They parted for her without hesitation.

Deidara was already sitting in the uncomfortable looking metal chair when she arrived. He strained his head around to look at her, and from the difficulty he seemed to be having she assumed he had been restrained, neck-brace and all.

"You're early, yeah," he looked relieved that she was there, his usually expressive smile bland and forced. "You must have missed me."

Sakura didn't reply, sitting down on the chair next to him and trying to ignore the obscene array of torture implements decorating the peeling walls.

"Would you like to share my apple turnover?" She showed him the small paper bag.

"..."

"It looks really tasty."

"Alright," he consented, eyeing the pastry suspiciously.

She broke off half, and began to had it to him, when she remembered his restraints. Looking down, she saw abraded skin and bloodied leather.

"They're not being very gentle with you are they?" She asked softly.

"I've had much, much worse, yeah." His smile was a little bitter.

"You'll have to tell me about that someday." She held the pastry up to his lips. He glared at it before opening his mouth and taking it from her, his teeth brushing her finger ever so slightly before he closed his mouth around the pastry. He met her gaze, and smirked. As she stood back and finished up her share, she noticed his gaze traveling over her body intently. She flushed pink.

"That outfit... Are you supposed to be wearing something so... Tempting?" He asked, his voice low.

"This?" Sakura looked down at her medic's uniform, tugging down the short skirt self-consciously. "This is the standard uniform for medics at the hospital. Everybody wears..." She trailed off, her gaze drifting over Deidara's uncovered torso. "You hypocrite. You're not even wearing a shirt!"

"Don't act like you're not staring, you like what you see don't you, hm?"

He grinned at her, his usual self back in an instant. How could he look so dangerous, so provocative, when he couldn't move sufficiently to even feed himself? It was plain unfair.

He let his head fall back onto the chair with a thump, tugging at his restraints. A deep frustrated groan escaped him. "I just _had_ to be tied up when you're wearing something like that, yeah. You don't feel like untying me by any chance do you, kitten?"

She was saved from answering by approaching footsteps. Startled, she stumbled out of her chair to stand awkwardly at the other side of the room, not wanting to be caught doing whatever they were doing.

"Smooth, yeah." Came Deidara's amused voice as some silver instruments clattered to the floor as a result of her haste.

The heavy door creaked open noisily and Inoichi and another Yamanaka stepped through.

"Inoichi-san." Sakura gave a bow. Inwardly she was relieved to see Inoichi would be the one to perform the scan. He was the most skilled within the Yamanaka clan, which meant less chance of something going wrong.

"Oh good, you're early Sakura," remarked Inoichi with a friendly smile, "we can get started right away."

Inoichi began to set up the room, moving the trays of dubious looking sharp objects out of the way while Sakura remembered why she was there, and unpacked various things from her large medical kit.

"I have a sedative I recommend that you take." She waved a small vial of liquid at him, which he regarded warily. "It'll make the whole process easier for all of us, especially you. You probably won't even remember it."

"I don't want it. I'd rather know what's going on, yeah." He was starting to look a little worried, tugging unconsciously at his restraints.

"Let me know if you change your mind." She put the bottle down, and gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile, before leaning in close so the others wouldn't hear. "You're very lucky. Inoichi's a kind man and will do his best not to give you a headache."

"That's something I suppose..." He still seemed distressed, looking around the unpleasant room with wide eyes, not unlike a lost child.

"Deidara," she called softly. "You're going to be fine. This is just one moment in your life, it will pass."

He nodded, his eyes still a little wider than normal, but his breathing calm and steady.

Inoichi seemed to have finished preparing the room.

"Alright, we're nearly ready, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to strap your entire body down for your own safety; the procedure can sometimes trigger seizures."

Deidara made no comment as his legs, torso and head were all strapped securely to the chair, but his eyes sought out hers, possibly for comfort. Sakura placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing slightly and ignoring the looks the Yamanakas gave her.

"You'll be fine." She repeated, before taking a small step away from the chair, remaining close.

Inoichi was positioned behind Deidara, with his hands touching the young artist's temples.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"Mmph." Deidara attempted to nod through his bindings.

With Deidara's confirmation, Inoichi pushed his silver chakra into the mind before him, closing his eyes and frowning in concentration. There was a sharp intake of breath as Inoichi seemed to encounter a problem. His face became very tense, and he began to grip Deidara's head more firmly.

Sakura could only watch helplessly as Deidara's eyes rolled back in his head and a low guttural scream escaped him, making her wince with concern. The chair began to shake as Deidara's violent movements jarred it forcefully in spite of the restraints.

She hadn't expected this.

"I thought this was supposed to be a consensual scan," muttered the Yamanaka beside her. "It looks like your prisoner isn't letting Inoichi in. This will make things more difficult, since we were ordered not to stop."

"Is he going he be okay?" Sakura asked, alarmed.

"Maybe, maybe not," the blond man shrugged indifferently. "If this has to increase to interrogation-level probing, then he could suffer brain damage. Does it really matter though, as long we get the info? He's Akatsuki."

"Ex-Akatsuki." Sakura ground out angrily, before rushing to crouch clumsily by Deidara's side, despite Tsunade's warnings to stand back during the scan. She turned to the Yamanaka angrily, "he's a good man, and he saved my life."

With that, she looked back to Deidara, knowing that she had to do something or risk losing him; his vibrant and unpredictable personality, his carefully nurtured and hard-earned skills, his oddly endearing idiosyncrasies.

"Come on Deidara, you've got to calm down." She whispered into his ear, praying for him to hear her. He was shaking, pressing himself into the metal chair, his face filled with torment. The veins on his forehead were raised, pulsing rapidly. "Think about the time we met; how you called me cute and it made me blush. Think about your explosions, how beautiful they are. Don't you want to make some more after this?"

His eyes opened, unfocussed and slitted with anguish. It looked like he was trying to talk, but was unable to form words through the restraints. Another agonised scream ripped through him, and the whites of his eyes turned red as blood escaped them, rivulets trickling down his cheeks to stain his hair.

"Sa... Saku-" he choked, unable to focus on her through the stinging crimson blurring his eyes.

Unable to hold herself back any longer, she grabbed his trembling hand with both of her own. She heard a vague shout of warning from the Yamanaka, but ignored it.

"Deidara please, _you just need to relax_."

Suddenly, without warning, she felt a tug of chakra, and she felt herself being irresistibly pulled into his consciousness through her hands.

She could feel him, frightened and angry, rebelling violently against the invading presence, but not at her. She let him feel her chakra, releasing a little into his system. She could tell that he noticed; he stopped fighting quite so hard, but he was still in pain.

She couldn't speak, but she knew he understood what she was trying to say.

_Just let go. It'll be over soon._

She felt her words reach him, and slowly, carefully, he began to quiet, letting the invading pressure into his memories. She could feel his past rushing over them both, and she saw snippets of dark secrets.

She saw the murder of his pregnant mother through a crack of a cupboard, her violent, quiet rape on the living room floor. He was only two at the time.

She saw Mei's face and her outstretched hand as he was forced to leave her, and felt his guilt.

She saw his defeat at the hands of Itachi, the frustration of having his freedom taken from him again by Akatsuki. Echoes of strangers' voices and long-past explosions invaded her mind, making her head hurt.

The flow began to reverse, and she knew he was looking into her. She relived some of the darkest hours of her past, knowing that he was experiencing them right beside her.

Together, they felt the humiliation of being the weakest member of her team, the frustration of being ignored and overlooked beside her three superhuman teammates.

They both felt the heart wrenching loneliness as first her friends, then her parents were gone.

They stood together at the top of Hokage Mountain, thinking about ending everything with a jump, but knowing they were needed too much by the living.

For a single moment that seemed to stretch, she could see him, but only his eyes. Always those feline, incandescent eyes. She felt like they'd been inside her all along.

"He's clean." She heard a voice saying in the distance over her pounding head, and she was herself again. She could still feel Deidara's hand, limp and hot between hers.

She opened her eyes blearily, and was surprised to see Inoichi staring at her intently.

"You just did a very kind but stupid thing," he told her, "and you were very lucky. There were so many things that could have gone wrong. It's almost unheard of for both of you to come out with undamaged minds." He shook his head.

She looked over at Deidara, relieved when she saw his peaceful sleeping face, marred only by the bloodstains on his cheeks. She noticed that the blood had dried, which meant that the scan must have gone on for hours, much longer than she'd expected.

"He's going to be okay?"

"He won't wake up for a day or two and he'll have a headache when he wakes up, but that's normal." He gave a sympathetic grimace. "I have to go and report to the Hokage now. I have a lot to tell her."

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The room Deidara had been placed in was in the small high security section of Konoha's hospital. The whole room was white, even the curtains, though thick bars marred the peaceful view. A small empty glass vase stood by the window, the night visible through its clear body.

Needing somewhere to start, she closed the cotton curtains, turning to look at him from her position by the window.

She was struck by how well he fit in with the pure atmosphere. His pale hair spread over the pillow almost seemed to glow with reflected light, the blood caking it meaning nothing. Though his eyes were still bloodstained, he appeared so unguarded that he almost looked sinless. Utterly untouched.

"How can you look like that?" She mused quietly, turning round to drag a nearby chair to his bedside. She missed the small twitch of his lips at her words, preoccupied with filling a basin with warm water from the small clean sink. "You look as if you've never seen anything but the blue sky. It's as bad as lying, you know."

His peaceful expression was incredibly deceptive; she couldn't imagine how somebody who had seen so many battles, killed so many, and been hated so much could look so beautiful. She thought back to the scar by his left eye. She supposed that had been all he had to show for his sins, but she'd taken that away, his only physical imperfection.

Sitting down on the chair, she leaned over and began to gently wipe the blood from his face. She winced as she cleaned around his eyes; it seemed as if he'd suffered some serious haemorrhaging, which would take copious amounts of delicacy and time to heal. She refilled the basin, this time lifting his head up to dip his hair in the warm water, washing all evidence of the trauma from it.

Once she was finished cleaning him up, she replaced his head back on his pillow, a little unsettled at how vulnerable he was under her hands. Unlike when he was awake, he seemed very feminine. His closed eyes displayed his thick lashes, almost impossibly dark for someone with his hair colour.

Clearing her rambling mind, she placed her hands over his eyes and began to heal, wishing her power could go deeper than just his physical damage.

Sakura knew that a mind scan brought up a bubbling fountain of dark, suppressed memories to the surface, nightmarish visions. She had woken up in terror for weeks after her own, and she was certain that Deidara had many more tribulations under his belt than she. She didn't envy him for the dreams he'd no doubt be having.

After taking care of the painful looking marks on his wrists and neck, she leaned back in her chair, her tiredness making the cheap furniture seem comfortable. She knew it wasn't her duty, not even as his medic, but she decided to stay. It was always possible that the nightmares could be so severe that he could injure himself, she reasoned.

She pulled off her shoes before turning out the harsh halogen light, and sat back down in her chair. She lifted her longs legs up to her chin so that she was curled up catlike on her chair, her head resting on her knees. She had slept in far worse places.

In the quiet pitch-blackness of the room, she began to wonder about his fate. Given the 'all-clear' from Inoichi, Sakura was certain that execution was no longer a possibility. There was a chance that some form of punishment would be deemed necessary; he had done Akatsuki's bidding for five years after all.

She knew that her shishou's decision would be fair, but she couldn't stop herself from hoping for Deidara's freedom. She had seen into his mind, and knew that for him, incarceration was torture. She knew how much he longed for the wind in his hair and his art at his fingertips.

Listening to his gentle, rhythmic breathing, she realised how much she worried for him, and was afraid of what the dawn would bring.

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A/N: And with this, I give you my heart. I found this hard to write, though the next chapter is already planned. Much as I love angsty Dei-chan, I felt a little mean. .

Let me know what you thought my dearest, wonderful readers! =)


	12. Betrayal

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

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"_I know this will not remain, but my broken wings can cross the ocean still._

_How far should I go, drifting in the wind?"_

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_Listening to his gentle, rhythmic breathing, she realised how much she worried for him, and was afraid of what the dawn would bring.

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Sakura dreamed deeply that night, interrupted only by an occasional rustling of bed covers from her blond patient. Her hazed delusions took the form of her worries and fears, conjuring up illogical worst-case scenarios, involving her friends, comrades, and in nearly all cases, Deidara. It seemed that the glance of his vulnerability, despite all his fearsome strength, had placed him firmly in her list of people to be concerned about. People she cared about.

The recollections of the disturbing dreams faded as she returned to consciousness, sparing her the unpleasant memories. She woke slowly; the white cotton curtains did little to block out the morning sun, and as a result the clean, thin beams of sunlight cut boldly across the room, making her eyes adjust quickly.

Finding herself in relatively the same position she had fallen asleep in, her legs suddenly felt very cramped. The tight catlike position she had slept in had left her legs with little blood supply, and she could feel the unpleasant numbness that would surely be followed by pins and needles.

Wincing, she unfolded her legs from her chest, stretching them out in front of her before rotating her ankles. She enjoyed the satisfying pops the joints made as she flexed them. She stood up shakily before stretching with a silent yawn.

She padded her way quietly to the curtains, bare feet making small sounds on the linoleum floor. She was momentarily blinded when she parted the curtains, the morning sun penetrating the room fiercely. It had to be around seven in the morning. She looked over to the bed; it seemed that Deidara had moved around a lot in his sleep, as the sheets were tangled around his legs. She found herself relieved to see the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

Sakura needed to check how his eyes had healed, but she didn't want to disturb him; it looked like he was finally resting without nightmares. She had been tired and shaken last night when she'd healed them, so she wasn't sure her job had been as thorough as she would have liked.

She sat down on the edge of the bed, the crisp cotton rustling gently as she sank into it. She leaned over the sleeping figure to assess the damage done by the mind scan. Deidara's head was resting on his bent arm, his masculine jaw in line with his elbow, and his lips slightly parted. His muscular arms looked beautifully sun kissed against the clinical white of the bed.

Focusing on her task, she gently placed her hands over his eyes and carefully released her chakra into the previously traumatised sockets. Sighing in relief, it seemed she'd done a much better job the previous night than she'd anticipated. The healing was nearly complete; she just needed to fix some slight retinal bruising, which wouldn't take more than a few minutes with her abilities. Her precise chakra actively broke down the clotted blood, returning it to its capillaries and leaving what she knew were clear, functioning eyes.

Sakura leaned back, pleased with her work. She didn't need to see his eyes to know that she'd done a good job; her chakra gave her a good view of all internal workings.

She had found slight discrepancies between the two, though nothing that would affect his sight. It appeared that the chakra pathways in his left eye were enlarged, the complete opposite of Kakashi's, and probably Itachi's too. She made a mental note to ask about it when the opportunity arose. For now, she settled with holding his long hair out of the way so she could peer curiously at the eye, touching it lightly in a vain attempt to discover a reason behind the disparity.

"You know kitten," came a confident, though slightly hoarse voice, "I think we've been over this before. It's rude to molest people in their sleep...yeah"

Retracting her hands from his face she looked down at the newly awoken man. He was grinning, and suddenly without her realising, so was she.

"How are you feeling?" She asked gently through her smile, "Can you open your eyes?"

As an answer, he cracked them open, one at a time, and focussed them on hers unwaveringly.

As their eyes met, her grin became wider, and she found herself unable to stop a giggle from bubbling up and out of her. The mixture of relief, happiness and nervousness seemed to have dissolved her self control. The perplexed look on Deidara's sleepy face didn't help the situation as she found herself unable to stop. He patiently waited for her laughter to subside before speaking.

"Is it something I said?" He asked, bemused.

"I think... I think I'm just happy to see you," Sakura replied honestly. She'd been worried that he'd never show her that infectious grin of his again.

"The feeling's mutual, believe me." Deidara gave a sigh, before sitting up; quite a feat for someone who was supposed to unconscious for another day or two. Then again, she shouldn't have been surprised; he'd come round from her own anaesthetics in just a few hours. This man did _not_ like to be unconscious.

A wince and small grunt of pain brought her attention back to the problems at hand. It was possible that there was a problem she'd missed. Medical examinations didn't always work especially well when the patient wasn't awake; they couldn't tell you where it hurt.

"I need to examine you again. I just want to make sure nothing went wrong."

"Be gentle with me, yeah."

"Sit with your back against the headboard. This might make you feel dizzy, and your head's been abused enough without you falling on it."

He obliged, shuffling back until he was seated against the hard back of the cheap bed.

From her position on the bed, she could easily reach his head, and brought her hands up into contact with his temples, probing delicately with her chakra. She didn't expect to find anything. His interaction with her seemed to be completely normal...

Well, the Deidara kind of normal.

Her first assumptions were correct, she found. Although she wasn't exactly an expert on brain anatomy, she could sense no trauma, swelling or bruising on the brain tissue. It seemed as if the only damage had been to his eyes, which was very lucky. Most patients came out of a scan with some mild brain swelling, at the very least and the less cooperative ones usually came out as vegetables. It seemed that Deidara's mind was very durable.

She withdrew her chakra slowly, trying to avoid causing him dizziness from sudden changes of the pressure in his brain. She removed her hands from his temples and found her awareness return to her own body, examination complete.

Without warning, she found his hands at her elbows, and his head resting comfortably against her shoulder. She could feel his soft warm breath on her collarbone, tickling it just a little. She felt a shiver run down her spine. His hands were hot against her cool arms and all at once, she was far too aware of his of his semi-clothed state.

"Deidara?" She inquired, her breathing a touch irregular.

"Just let me stay here for a while, hm?" He sounded tired, and it seemed like the events of the past few days were finally catching up to him.

Acceptance, she had come to realise, was not something Deidara was used to. After witnessing his lack of surprise at the hostile treatment he'd suffered since he arrived in Konoha, she knew why he seemed so arrogant and egocentric. He never gave anybody a chance to reject him, because he rejected them first.

So why was he not rejecting _her_?

Sakura didn't move, instead allowing herself to tentatively relax into the contact, trying to hide the nervous tremor in her hands.

"Okay," she consented softly, shakily.

She could allow him this. His past, the torturous events he had endured as a child, and the hardships he had borne over the past few years were more than enough to deserve human contact, her contact.

What she wanted to know was why was she so on edge? No, not on edge. She was full of _anticipation_. The kiss they had shared, far above the ground, the dark, forceful encounter in the cell, his body hard and hot against hers. The images came unbidden to her, reminding her of the diminished space between them. His honest confession; the scars he'd shown to no one else. Their very own bond.

It was then, in that room with the cheap curtains and cold floor, that she felt hope for the first time in a long time. It was so small that at first she didn't trust that it was real and not just wishful thinking. It made the pale sunlight on her back feel warm, and the worries of war, death, and loneliness seem less terrible. It was a start.

She let her arms slide up past his, resting on his firm shoulders hesitantly, her actions wavering and unsure. She chose the words carefully before she spoke;

"I think," she paused, "I think things are going to get better."

He gave a low hum of what sounded like agreement, but she couldn't be sure. She felt the warm weight of his head move off her, and then he was looking at her, his strikingly shaped eyes meeting hers in an intense gaze that was not entirely platonic.

"It might take time," she continued, "but I'm sure things will change. Konoha is a good place, and these people may surprise you, if you let them."

His hands remained on her arms, tightening fractionally as his eyebrows twitched together in a momentary frown. She sounded so convinced and earnest, so certain of a distant happiness, that it was all he could do not to get swept away by her untried optimism. Maybe he could allow himself these cautious hopes, allow himself to trust the world a little, to live life without the past obscuring his vision and the choices he made. He had always lived life with an end in clear sight; he would die young, recklessly, and beautifully. It would be a tragically artistic end to the life he had suffered through for long enough, and he would be remembered for it.

But that wasn't right. He's already _had_ his big end. His death. He'd been meant to die, and maybe part of him _had_ died, back in that explosion. But her face, leaning over him, fear, concern and hope all looking into his damaged soul through her pure eyes, giving him a second chance. He was only just realising what she had done for him, and what it meant.

"Sakura, I-" he began, but was cut off by a sudden intrusion, as it was made apparent that the door had no lock.

Tsunade, her raised eyebrow and a group of four faceless anbu stood at the door.

Blushing, Sakura leapt away from Deidara, stumbling over her chair as she did so, panicked that her actions would cause her mentor to reconsider any deal she was planning to offer Deidara.

"Shishou! It's not what it-"

"I don't care Sakura," Tsunade interrupted, "I have some very important and _confidential_ matters to talk about with Deidara."

Sakura took the hint, and practically ran to the other side of the room to pick up her shoes, sparing quick glance at Deidara.

"We'll talk later," she said under her breath, and he gave a small nod, a tiny crease between his brows showing his annoyance at their interruption.

She turned to bow to her superiors and exited the room, her head held low to hide her burning cheeks. She heard the her shishou mutter to her guards to make sure the room was be secure, before the door closed, and three of the masked ninjas flickered off to do their Hokage's bidding, while the last stood outside Deidara's room.

Now Sakura was _curious_. She couldn't understand why Tsunade would hide matters concerning Deidara from her. She'd been the one to bring him in after all, and one of the only people in Konoha who knew of his presence in the hidden village. Perhaps her tutor was just being respectful of Deidara's confidentiality, not that she'd ever paid much attention to those sorts of rules in the past.

Although she tried to dismiss it as paranoia, Sakura had a feeling that secrets were being kept from her deliberately. The _bad_ kind.

* * *

After being kicked out of Deidara's room, Sakura had been at a loss of what to do with herself. The hospital was already fully staffed, with only a few patients. She wasn't needed, so she'd wandered home, dawdling past the flower shop, but it seemed that Ino was elsewhere.

After a quick visit to her apartment to wash up and change, she'd decided to head down to the training grounds, after attacking her kunai viciously with a whetstone. She hadn't done a lick of physical exercise since she returned with Deidara, and she couldn't afford to let her skills slip, especially not with the rumours of war circulating around the shinobi population.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled her body into her warm up stances and stretches, scanning the training grounds, trying to decide which techniques to work on. Target practice was an obvious area to improve upon, though her taijutsu needed work too. Since she had no sparring partner, she decided to try out her newly sharpened kunai on the multiple bulls-eyes planted around the training area.

Leaping into action, she propelled herself from one tree to another, kunai flying from her fingertips at frightening speeds, always hitting the target, but in some cases, not quite the bullseye. It was a drastic improvement from her genin days, now that she actually _practiced_, instead of only daydreaming and studying. Still, she frowned at the result. She could do better.

The next hour was spent launching kunai and shuriken at innocent trees, from the angles the poor conifers would never expect. She kept a high pace; throw, throw, throw, flick, throw, clash, collect, repeat. She found solace in the mindless exercise, her worries, suspicions and problems burned away with the strenuous activity, and she found peace in her own mind, if only for a while.

Only when sweat had soaked her outfit and plastered her hair to her forehead did she slow down. She landed nimbly, her legs bent and one hand spread on the training ground floor for balance. Sighing, she straightened up and began the task of retrieving her kunai again; the most tedious part of target practice.

"You know, it's a lot easier if you attach chakra strings to your projectiles," a friendly

voice suggested, making Sakura jump. "And if you get really good, you could even make them fly at a curve, you know; surprise the enemy."

Tenten stepped out from behind a tall pine tree, holding one of Sakura's kunai. Without warning, she launched it straight at Sakura, who slapped it between two hands, stopping it just before her surprised face. Tenten smiled kindly.

"You look like you could use a sparring partner," she finished.

"You're right," Sakura replied, "thank you."

"I hear medic-nins are good at dodging," she grinned, slipping into a fighting stance and reaching for a small scroll, "would you oblige me?"

"I'd love to," Sakura grinned back in reply, and sank into her own stance, low to the ground but light on her toes, ready to dodge or deflect whatever came at her.

Tenten launched herself into the air with a sharp battle cry, unravelling her weapon scroll with a blur. With a loud popping sound, weapons materialised and were flying towards Sakura at incredible speeds. Any normal ninja would have difficulty dodging so many projectiles at once, but Sakura was no normal ninja.

As she jumped, skidded, and twisted around the missiles, she couldn't help but be reminded of her fight against Sasori, although this time there was no Elder Chiyo helping her. Fortunately for Sakura, Tenten wasn't quite on the same level as Sasori, and there was no chance of being fatally poisoned. However, it still took a lot of effort to avoid the mass of pointy objects, tactically thrown so that if she dodged one, she'd immediately be in the path of another. Tenten was _good_.

At one point, Sakura could swear she actually _heard_ the kunai fly by her ear after an unexpected tactical maneuver, and was a little shocked to see a few strands of pink floating gently to the forest floor, but she was glad Tenten wasn't going easy on her; aiming to kill during practice was considered a courtesy, as anything less would imply that they didn't consider each other competent enough. They were fighting without chakra, but on equal terms.

Finally, the two kunoichi came to a rest, Tenten having run out of weapons to hurl at Sakura, who was significantly more out of breath than her opponent due to all the darting about she'd been doing to avoid being cut to ribbons.

"Not a single scratch on you..." Tenten shook her head, twirling a kunai as she approached Sakura. "I'm impressed. You've definitely got the right moves for a short-range fighter. I have a question though; what would you do if you came up against a long range fighter? Evasive techniques can only get you so far. Haven't you learned any long distance offensive attacks?"

"It's just not something I've really considered necessary before," Sakura replied, "I've always been paired with someone who can fight long range, so I haven't had to learn."

"I see," mused Tenten. She tapped her chin with the flat side of her kunai and looked at Sakura sideways. "So you've always got someone to fight for you."

"That's not what I meant!" Sakura defended, "What I meant was, I trust them, my teammates. I don't want to... get in their way trying to do things I'm not good at. I watch their backs. I always have..." she trailed off, realising how much like her twelve year old self she sounded.

"You're worried about burdening your team?"

"I guess it wouldn't be a problem if there were some long range techniques I _could_ use... Long range techniques usually involve training that takes years to master." Sakura sighed, defeated. "You don't happen to know any that I could pick up in a few days do you?" Sakura said lamely in a half-joking manner.

"There is one... You'd have to have insane chakra control to master it. I don't mind teaching it to you though," Tenten said brightly, "that is, if you'll teach me how to dodge like a cat."

* * *

It was well past lunchtime by the time Sakura reached her apartment, dirty but elated at her success, with chakra depleted but still smiling. It had been a long time since she'd trained so hard. She had learned a lot from Tenten, and hoped to train with her again sometime in the future.

She may as well have not bothered showering that morning, she realised; she was covered in sweat, mud, and bits of undergrowth from the training grounds. She stripped and showered quickly, unable to stop the smile from spreading across her face at the thought of what she had learned. She couldn't wait to see Naruto's face when he saw the technique her and Tenten had come up with.

After her shower, she made a quick lunch consisting of a vegetable cup ramen, adding pieces of meat for protein. She hadn't realised how hungry she'd been until she had the food in front of her and the smell of the ramen wafting towards her.

Mindful of the time, she ate quickly. She'd promised to return to Deidara's room, and it had been _hours_ since Tsunade had begun the negotiation talk with Deidara. He was probably bored, with only the stolid anbu guards for company.

As she walked hurriedly in the direction of Konoha's hospital, a delicious smell caught her attention. A dango vendor was selling hot, fresh dumplings at the side of the street. Sakura smiled, thinking of how bland hospital food was. Deidara would surely appreciate some of Konoha's finest treats instead of the food he was most likely receiving, so she bought a small bag of the steaming, syrupy skewers from the cheerful peddler.

"Haruno Sakura?" a monotonous voice questioned, nearly making her drop her paper bag. It was one of Tsunade's messengers from anbu.

"That's right," she confirmed.

"The Hokage needs to see you."

"Right now?" Sakura asked, disappointed. The dango would get cold.

The messenger nodded sharply before flickering away, presumably having other jobs to do.

Sighing, Sakura tucked the bag of dango under her arm, and altered her course to the Hokage tower.

* * *

"I have a mission for you."

"A mission? _Now_?" Sakura reiterated.

"Is there a problem with that, Sakura?"

"No Shishou."

"I'm sending you to Kiku Village to control an outbreak of fever. It seems to be contagious and resistant, and it has caused some deaths amongst the people. It needs to be addressed. Can you do that for me Sakura?"

"Yes shishou," Sakura confirmed. She had heard of Kiku Village; it was a small civilian town on the close border of Fire, and was frequented often by travelling shinobi. It was famous for its hot springs which were said to be amongst the best.

"You have permission to take what you need from the hospital's stock; I'll sign out whatever you take. Any questions?"

"Actually, yes," interjected Genma, who stood beside Sakura, his trademark senbon dangling precariously at the side of his mouth. "Why am I here?"

"I'm not sending anyone on lone missions anymore. It's just too dangerous for a medic to go alone, as healing drains their chakra. Konoha can't afford any more losses, so we're playing it safe." Tsunade looked menacingly over her fingers at Genma. "My apprentice is in your hands. I trust you'll look after her."

The menace in her voice was not missed by either of her subordinates, and Sakura shot him an apologetic look as soon as Tsunade returned her gaze to the papers on her desk. The blonde scribbled something on one, and stamped it viciously before rolling it up handing it over to Sakura, who accepted the scroll dutifully.

"Give this to Shinnosuke, the village head. He will assist you in your mission and give you accommodation. You'll leave this afternoon. You have two hours to prepare."

And with that, Sakura had been sent away.

She rushed home to pack quickly, taking only two spare outfits; she hoped the mission wouldn't last more than a couple of days. She packed her standard medical kit, along with her more specialised herbal kit. Although it was only a within-borders mission involving civilians, she still packed enough kunai to get her through a battle or two; she was a kunoichi after all, and letting one's guard down could be death for a shinobi.

Aware that she had very little time, she rushed to the hospital, leaving her bags at her apartment to collect on her way to the gate. Before she rushed out of the door, she saw the small paper bag sitting on the table, almost forgotten. Smiling, she grabbed it and ran, sprinting towards the hospital. She should still have time, she thought.

The receptionist barely noticed her as she came dashing into the building, trying to recall where Deidara's room had been. Remembering, she hurried towards the South wing, rushing past trolleys and nurses and patients, to come to a halt at the room where Deidara had been held.

"What's going on?" she queried the guard who stood at the door, as he refused to stand aside. "Is there a problem?"

"The patient you wish to see has been moved for further questioning. The room is being used for something else now."

"And I don't suppose you'd care to tell me where he is?" she bit out frustrated, tired of the games her shishou seemed to be playing.

"That's classified information."

"Well of _course_ it is!" she fumed, before turning on her heel to storm away.

She paused when she felt the bag in her hand bump lightly against her leg as she strode along. Sighing, she paused, and turned around to face the anbu once more.

"Do you have a pen?"

* * *

"You're late," remarked Genma dryly, with a wink. "Picking up habits from old perverts?"

"Even if I am, that's still no reason to leer at me. Don't you know I'm young and impressionable?" She paused for effect, but couldn't quite keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "I might fall in _love_ with you."

"We both know you already are," Genma grinned obliviously, before looking over her small pack and travelling cloak. "Have you got everything? Medicine? Weapons? Spare panties?"

She gave him a glare which promised a painful death, to which he had the decency to at least look mock-offended.

"Let's go," she ground out, a slight smile twitching at the corners of her mouth.

The light-hearted beginning to their mission felt like a good omen, so Sakura allowed herself to enjoy the breeze making her hair fly about her head. It was good weather for travelling, and with their current speed, they would surely reach the village in just a few hours.

The cheerful banter between her and Genma seemed to dissolve the miles, and towns flew past unnoticed. It seemed like barely any time at all before they stood before the modest village, a pleasant smell of citrus prevailing over the common aromas of wood fires, smoking fish and sickness. Sakura looked around with interest, looking for the source of the fragrance.

"It's the soap they make here, for the bath houses." Genma explained, noticing her curiosity. "I'm sure we'll be able to take some back with us. Right now, we need to find the head of the village. Shinnosuke wasn't it?" he prompted.

"That's right," Sakura agreed. "We need to get unpacked before I can start my work here."

It turned out to be an easy task to locate Shinnosuke, the villagers were eager to help, due to the nature of Sakura and Genma's visit. Healers were always welcomed.

The meeting with the village was brief and pleasant. The man seemed at a loss as to why such a renowned healer, the Godaime Hokage's apprentice, had come all the way to the outskirts of Fire to cure an outbreak of _flu_. He told her that two deaths of elderly people as the result of the influenza virus was hardly cause for a full blown quarantine. He'd merely requested some extra workers for the children's hospital, as one of the victims had been a member of their already small nursing staff.

At that, Sakura was confused. Tsunade had made it sound a lot worse than it actually was. Sakura had been under the impression that it was a tough virus that had been killing off the villagers one by one, and was about to get a lot worse. It seemed that the Hokage was awfully anxious to get Sakura out of the village, and fast.

Instead of storming back to Konoha, demanding an explanation, Sakura calmly informed the head that there had been some confusion, and that she would do what she could to help.

That didn't mean she didn't suspect that something suspicious was going on, but it was her mission, after all, given to her by somebody she trusted implicitly. Tsunade may have been keeping things from her, but maybe - as hard as it was to face - maybe it was for her own good to be kept in the dark.

Once they had been shown to their rooms, Sakura quickly got her medical supplies organised, and began her house visits. Genma opted to stay out of her way, instead heading for the baths.

Sakura went round, house by house, examining patients for any complications the flu may have been causing, finding only one case where the patient needed any help from her to fight off the virus. She gave them a boost of her own chakra to assist their immune system, and was rewarded with a decrease in their high temperature.

Though her chakra was pretty much intact, Sakura felt her eyes drooping, as boredom from the repetitive and near-pointless activity. She was realising quickly that she was more suited to a tense and active setting, like Konoha's emergency department. She missed the adrenaline she found in bringing someone back from the edge of death, and without it, she was starting to flag.

Finally resting in her room after a long day's travelling and healing, Sakura lay wiggling her toes on her creaky but comfortable bed, still pondering Tsunade's reasoning for sending her on this mission, away from Konoha. It couldn't be, perhaps, that Tsunade had placed her away from the village so that they could do something to Deidara without her interfering?

Without warning, a nearby explosion shook the earth.

* * *

Many miles away, Deidara was pulling on his boots, and whatever was left of his shirt and cloak, each action tense and drawn out.

A few hours ago, he had received a small brown paper bag from a guard, containing cold, sticky dumplings that were far too sweet for his tastes and had the consistency of heavy marshmallows. He had eaten them anyway, though; mainly because of the note scribbled hastily on the back of the bag.

_"D- I'm being sent on a mission starting today, so I won't see you for a few days.I hope things went well with the Hokage, though I'm sure I'll find out when I get back. Don't blow up any officials when I'm gone; I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot of them._

_Sakura.  
_

_(p.s About the dango... Hospital food isn't the nicest, so I thought you might appreciate something that wasn't grey and mushy.")_

She had drawn a lopsided smiley face at the end of it, and Deidara felt a twist of guilt deep in his gut as he imagined her writing it, rushed but with a gentle smile, thinking of him. Pushing the guilt the image conjured aside, no matter how well a plan could be laid out, there would always be that which was not accounted for; an extraneous variable, and she was his.

Muttering curses he fumbled with his cloak fastening, pushing away images of Sakura glaring at him furiously for laughing at her when she had dropped her own fastening just days ago.

Was it really worth it? To let someone get inside his head- literally, this time, and completely fuck up his decision making abilities; something that could only mean bad things to a missing-nin.

His clear head when it came to hard choices had been the reason he'd survived so far. No, he amended, she was the reason he was still alive. That girl, with the cool, soft hands which had taken away his pain, made him whole again in more ways than one. What he was about to do would mean that he might never see her again. If he did, she would most likely try to kill him.

Fully dressed, he spat out the tiny piece of clay he'd stored in his extra mouths, quickly creating a small creature which he fed into the lock on the door. Instead of detonating it, he used it to manipulate the lock mechanism quietly, not alerting the guards outside his room. He pocketed the clay once more as the lock clicked open without a sound.

Based on the barely audible sound of the breathing on the other side of the door, Deidara managed to discern only one guard, and their position; at the perfect angle to slam the heavy door into, possibly knocking them out.

Wrenching the handle quickly, he jerked the door open with such force that the guard was thrown all the way down the corridor, to land in a crumpled, messy heap against the wall.

Moving quickly, he used henge to make himself look vaguely like the guard, his chakra having been restored since he had gained the village's trust. He dragged the unconscious guard into the room he'd been in, and stationed a shadow clone at the door. Despite the large amounts of chakra a clone would require, he would know as soon as anyone discovered that he had escaped. He wanted things to go smoothly.

He made his way discreetly to the Hokage's tower, having memorised the route upon entry into Konoha. The empty corridors echoed with his sure footsteps, and he met no-one as he climbed the stairs to the office, a sick feeling rising in his stomach as he grew closer to his goal. The small door swung open easily, and he entered without hesitation, the room seeming smaller without the Hokage's commanding presence.

The scroll he was taking back to Akatsuki was in the drawer of the Hokage's desk, as he was sure it would be; he had seen her putting it there that afternoon. He slipped it inside his cloak and turned to the chest in the corner of the room. His clay was in there, he was sure of it. He approached the large container, and tried it with his hands before sighing. Well of course she wouldn't make it _easy_ for him.

Withdrawing the same piece of clay he'd used to pick the lock, he deftly sculpted another small creature, which entered the small keyhole with ease. The lock clicked open, and he yanked the case open, eager to be reunited with his primary weapon. Spying his makeshift bag, bulging at the bottom, he instantly looked inside, glad to see that his clay hadn't dried out.

He tied the bag to his belt, it's usually comforting presence doing little to alleviate the conflicting thoughts within him. He thrust his right hand into it, saturating the soft clay with his chakra. The small bombs seemed almost to make themselves, scattering around the room quickly, some descending to the lower floors of the building. He made himself a large bird, and jumped from the window to land on its back, the familiar feel of being in the air calming him slightly as he rose higher and higher above Konoha.

"Katsu," he muttered softly, two fingers pressed to his lips.

The destruction of the tower was indeed a work of art, flames billowing, parts of the huge building collapsing, people running like panicked ants to put out the fire. The roof caved in, and plumes of smoke ascended from the wreck.

And he flew away from the village which had offered him salvation.

* * *

**A/N:**...It's been a while... I'm really hoping I haven't lost all my readers, you lovely creatures. If it makes up for it, I think chapters will be coming along regularly now classes are over and I have time on my hands.

This is about the halfway mark for my story. End of part one, I suppose you could say. The setting of the next chapter will be quite different.

Thank you to my sweet beta The Patchwork Cat. She's a star.

Any thoughts, encouragements, criticisms? Let me know. *muses*


	13. The Dead and Gone

"_Words giving birth, words dying out, the words that live on inside you." - Lira_

_

* * *

_

**Warning: **Character death, angst. This is rated M for a reason, dearest ones.

* * *

_Time skip- two years._

Sakura was alone once more.

It wasn't so rare these days, to be alone. The death toll over the past two years had rivaled that of the last shinobi war.

Sakura trudged through the rain, carrying whatever groceries she could buy back to her apartment. She was on leave from duty, though she took no pleasure in the reprieve, all to aware that her comrades were fighting in the cold, far from home.

A small procession of black-clad people, some of whom Sakura recognised, walked slowly and purposefully down the main street. A coffin was borne upon their shoulders.

In some ways, they were lucky, Sakura thought. Most families did not have a body to bury. She bowed her head low in respect as they passed.

One of the first to go in a long line of casualties, was the girl who had become her closest friend; Tenten. As Sakura promised, she taught Tenten how to 'dodge like a cat,' as the cheerful girl had once put it. All the extra training had done her no good though, as she'd been murdered in her sleep by one of Kiri's silent assassins, who'd slipped invisibly past her teammate's watch.

Lee had never forgiven himself.

Before the war, the pair had spent months poring through the scrolls that Sakura had _begged_ Tsunade to give them access to. Together they had pored over the secret jutsu scrolls of long-gone clans, at first with fear of angering the dead, and then with a sense of determination. Between them, they brought to life forgotten techniques; after all, there was nobody left to tell them '_no.' _Neither of them saw any reason why the techniques should be abandoned, just because the original users were dead.

One such scroll, hidden amongst dust and lacy cobwebs, had detailed the use of nature manipulation, coupled with _sharp things_.

Sakura had done the test for her chakra type years ago, and was happy to find that her fire element would work well with the technique, her hot wire cutting through even metal like butter.

Tenten however, had never mastered the technique. The chakra control it required was so high that even chakra specialised ninja would have had difficulty mastering it. It seemed that Sakura's perfect chakra control was useful for more than just healing, though she would never have as much of it to use as Naruto or Sasuke. Her chakra level was very similar to that of Kakashi.

_Damn it._

That name again. The one that wouldn't leave her alone. It seemed that anything would remind her of her last mission, the one she truly wished she could forget.

Kakashi, absent and preoccupied for a good portion of her teenage years, had steadily grown more involved with her education; teaching her techniques, and working on the taijutsu he was a master at, but had neglected to teach her until then.

It was a warm day when she came to him for the first time, timidly, asking if he could train her with his 'string reeling technique.' His interest peaked, and once she told him of her small successes in trying to re-create his technique with the addition of nature manipulation, he began scribbling diagrams on a dog-eared scroll.

"_This is the way you study best, isn't it Sakura?"_ he'd asked her, explaining the rough sketches involving angles, distance, and application of chakra. It seemed he knew more than enough about the technique to guide her, even going so far as to attempt to teach her to apply lightning natured chakra to the wires, though she still only had varying success with it.

Looking back on how driven Kakashi had been to teach her, she wondered if he'd felt guilty for neglecting her training, focussing on Naruto and Sasuke instead. It had crossed her mind that he was atoning for being a bad teacher, spending nearly every free day training with her, trying to make her ready for the war, for anything.

Their last mission, the one that was gorily etched into her memory like a fresh wound, had been his last.

"_We must strike now," Tsunade was pacing back and forth in front of the assembled jounin, "while he is weak. This mission..could mean the end of this wretched war." _

_Sakura and her fellow jonin stood just a little straighter at that. The hope they were each breathing was almost palpable. Tsunade stopped her pacing and turned to look at them all gravely._

"_Though he may be weakened right now, we all know who he is," Tsunade paused, "and what taking this mission might mean. Do not volunteer lightly."_

_Kakashi had been the first to raise his hand. _

_The rumours had been true; Madara was indeed in a weakened state, having somehow lost his left hand, making him unable to form hand seals, though that didn't stop him from slaughtering the first two jounin who attacked. He sucked them out of existence without a trace using the Mangekyou._

_Sakura should have been the next to go, all her training with Kakashi and Tenten worthless as she found herself in the most horrifying genjutsu she'd ever met. For her, it had lasted seven days. _

_When she came to, vomiting, a familiar figure was standing over her, protecting her, just like in her genin days when she was too weak to defend herself, only this time copious amounts of blood were seeping through his flak jacket. Madara was lying on the floor twenty feet away, unmoving._

"_Kakashi...sensei?" she'd asked trembling "You-"_

_He'd turned his head to face her, and she gasped; his sharingan had exploded in his eye socket, and blood was streaming down his face._

"_I made it," he coughed, "in time." _

_He crinkled an eye at her before collapsing into her arms._

_She'd tried to heal him them, tried to force the chakra out of her and into him, but it wouldn't come. She screamed, and swore, but her chakra wouldn't come out. It seemed that the trauma of the genjutsu had messed up her control._

"_Damn it!" she'd screamed, sobbing onto her sensei's bloodied chest, beating the floor with her useless fists as their comrades could only look on in helpless silence._

"_It's okay Sakura," he'd comforted her kindly, "things are fine like this."_

_He'd reached up a shaky, battle-scarred hand, and clumsily cupped her cheek. _

"_You have so much to live for."_

The sound of her groceries hitting the pavement brought Sakura back to the present. How long had she been standing in the rain? Her paper bag had gotten soaked through, giving way and sending apples and cup ramen rolling across the street.

Her gaze followed the path of one red apple, speeding along the slight slope of the pavement, before coming to a stop at a pair of feet. A slender, pale hand reached down, and picked the fruit up off the floor.

"Sasuke," she murmured, surprised, "why are you here?" The last she'd heard, he'd become a complete recluse ever since he'd lost his eyes.

"Shikamaru told me you'd returned," he replied, approaching her slowly, certain of her identity after hearing her voice. Sakura still couldn't get used to seeing Sasuke with bandages around his eyes, and the slender cane in his left hand.

Like her, he had no umbrella, and the ends of his hair were dripping with water.

"You're soaked," she observed quietly.

"...It's raining," his lips rose in a slight smirk as he held out her apple, which she took from him wonderingly.

"I suppose it is..." she agreed, before adding the apple to the soggy pile of groceries in her arms, which promptly collapsed further, sending more items slipping out of her grasp.

"Give me those," he ordered softly, offering his hands, "you can't carry them all, can you?"

In reply, she stacked him up with the items she held, before getting on her hands and knees to pick up the rest.

"Come back to my apartment with me, and I'll make hot tea," she offered, and started walking, knowing he'd follow.

Neither of them made any effort to start a conversation as they walked, only the sound of the rain on the pavement, and Sasuke's black cane skittering lightly in front of him breaking the silence.

Sakura hadn't noticed how cold she was, until she was nearly defeated by the lock on her door, her numb fingers struggling with the keys. Silently cursing herself for daydreaming in the harsh weather, she finally wrenched the door open, kicking off her shoes and heading to the kitchen.

"It smells like dust," remarked Sasuke behind her, wrinkling his nose by a fraction.

"Nobody's been in here for over a year," Sakura explained, placing her groceries on the table, "and I haven't cleaned yet. You can put those down now."

He joined her at the table, feeling for the edge before spilling her shopping onto it. He felt out the plastic chair, before sitting down on it slowly, while Sakura quickly packed up the groceries into her cupboards. The low hiss of the kettle began to fill the air.

"I hear rumours you've become one of Konoha's most vicious assassins; 'Konoha no Setsudanki,'" he told her, his voice steady, "_Konoha's guillotine_."

"Where did you hear that?" Sakura asked absently, pouring tea for two into her earthenware mugs. The name had begun to follow her around, clinging to her like thick oil. She despised it.

"Vague mutterings coming from frightened men in dark bars," Sasuke rested his pointed chin across his elegant fingers, elbows resting on her table. "Horror stories they surely tell to enemy shinobi children-though I'm sure much it couldn't _possibly_ be true," he smirked. "Our little Sakura-chan surely wouldn't do such _bad_ things; like cutting three Stone ninja in half with a single flick of her wrist, for instance."

"Why did you come here, Sasuke?" she asked lightly, distantly. "To torment me? Mock me? I assure you, you're wasting your time. Your words are just words, and nothing more."

"I came here to check something," Sasuke said simply, "and the rumours are right, you _have_ changed."

"Haven't we all?" replied Sakura, placing a hot cup in front of him with a light clunk. "You're not exactly the same person you were when we were genin."

"At least I'm alive..." he said softly, and she felt as if he was looking far too deeply into her, through the bandages across his missing eyes and into hers. "Sakura, you're not even really _here_, are you? Where did you go?"

"...I'm still lost somewhere, Sasuke. Just leave me be."

* * *

Sasuke had left shortly after that, and she had tipped the remains of his tea down the sink, while abandoning her own cup in search of dry clothes and a towel for her hair. Her delay in changing out of her wet garments had caused her body temperature to drop by quite a bit, she estimated, and it wouldn't do anybody any good if she were to get sick.

For the first time in over a year, she opened the door to her room, the soft padding of her feet giving rise to mini dust clouds. It had been so long, that her own home felt strange to her, and the ceiling was an oppressive cage above her head.

She tried to ignore the cooped-in feeling as she rummaged through her drawers to find a pair of soft flannel pajamas. It had been so long since she had slept in a bed. After pulling on the downy nightwear, she sat on her bed, suppressing a sneeze as the dust puffing from the bed irritated her nose.

Sakura lamented not putting dust-sheets on her furniture before she left, but there had been no time. The troops at the border had been overwhelmed, and needed reinforcements quickly. Sakura hadn't even stopped by to pack before landing herself in muddy, bloody trenches and constant threat of death for the first three months, before struggling through the rest of the war, away from home. She had been surprised at how well she had taken it; the fear, exhaustion and adrenaline served her well as a distraction against all that she had lost.

In the nights where the moon hung heavy amongst the stars, and the sky seemed to weigh and press upon her tired body, in those precious moments were rest was permitted, Sakura still dreamed;

She dreamed of her friends, all together and _smiling_. She dreamed that the war was over, and that she had returned home to find everyone waiting for her, and they had never been gone. It had all been a confused exaggeration of a tired mind.

Sometimes she dreamed of _him._ Never his face, but his _voice_; the single calm point within the rush of fear and noise. The hushed tones drowned out the screams from both comrades and enemies alike that replayed like a broken record in her head.

"_It's alright Sakura, yeah..."_

She'd wake up happy, and then feel a sense of ripping loss as she remembered where she was; lying under the night sky, dyed orange and red with the promise of a bloody dawn. The tears would fall silently while she prayed for the power to forget, and cursed herself for her weakness and self-pity.

A fluttering, tapping noise interrupted her reverie, and she looked up from the cracks in her floor to her desk, upon which stood an object shrouded in a faded cloth, weak nighttime light from her window bathing it in a blue sheen.

A hint of a smile touched her lips. So it was still there, was it?

Sakura stepped into the shaft of moonlight, and slowly lifted the cloth, revealing an upturned glass vase.

"Hello you," she greeted softly, touching the cool glass with her fingertips. "It's been a while."

Inside, a small white butterfly beat its wings, floating prettily in the confined space.

A _clay_ butterfly.

* * *

Sakura had found herself unable to sleep in her bed, the softness and vulnerable position far too strange for her paranoid mind to deal with. She lay there, watching the threadlike wisps of cobwebs wave gently in the weak breeze coming from her cracked window. Eventually, she succumbed to her old habits and curled up on the floor by her dresser, facing the door, kunai in easy reach.

She had achieved four hours of sleep before awoke, alert and paranoid that she hadn't been woken up for her watch, until she realised that she wasn't at the border camp anymore.

The grey skirt and red shirt felt alien under Sakura's fingers, callouses snagging on the fragile cotton. She put it on anyway, trying to remember the last time she wore it, but failing. It had been so long since she had worn anything but black.

Out of habit, she strapped a small band of stiletto knives around her upper thigh, and slipped a small coil of her trademark wire inside her chest bindings. One could never be too careful.

The sun was oppressively bright as she stepped out onto the bustling street outside, small bento-box in her hand. She made her way slowly through the less busy streets, avoiding the busy crowds of the market places. The quiet of the border outpost, and the constant threat of danger had put her senses into overdrive, and she found it difficult being in the middle of such a throng of activity.

Finally, after nearly taking one shopkeeper's arm off when he waved a sample of his fresh baked goods at her, she reached her destination; Konoha's park.

She felt so out of place in the homely, normal scenery. In the distance, children played while their parents looked on, unaware that right then, people were dying on the battlefields so that they could enjoy their peace.

Shaking her head, she sat down on the soft grass. She shouldn't resent them for their carefree behaviour; it was for this very purpose, for the village and its citizens, that shinobi gave their lives. The battle would be pointless if there were no civilians to enjoy the freedom that was bought for them in blood.

There was a slight chill in the breeze, but for Sakura, who had patrolled the borders all through the winter, it didn't even make her shiver.

She ate her lunch slowly, soaking in the relaxed atmosphere, trying to let it dissolve her unease at sitting in such an open place, where she stood out against the grass. She even went so far as to take off her shoes, tufts of grass poking up from between her toes.

"Sakura! I heard a rumour you'd returned!" A feminine voice assaulted her, causing her to jump to her feet, brandishing a handful of tiny throwing knives in defense.

Ino stood there, her smile slowly fading off her pretty face, holding a small blonde-haired infant on her hip. The girl looked at Sakura, wide blue eyes far deeper and brighter than her mother's. Naruto's eyes.

Sakura fell to her knees with a light thump, her right hand dropping back to her side. She was trembling.

"Ino..." she muttered, but her gaze was focussed on the child at her side. "Is this...?"

"Minato-chan, meet Sakura," Ino explained to the infant, "say hello."

Minato smiled shyly at Sakura, and shook her hand clumsily in greeting.

Sakura waved back, stunned.

"You've been away for so long Sakura," Ino started, "a lot has happened in your absence. It's been nearly two years."

"I didn't even know you were pregnant..." Sakura murmured, unable to take her eyes off Naruto and Ino's daughter. "How old is she?"

"One and a half. I only found out I was expecting after Naruto..." Ino trailed off. "He didn't know."

Guilt clawed its way through Sakura's chest.

"I'm sorry Ino," she said, ashamed. "I should have been there."

"There was a war on, Sakura," Ino shook her head. "You were needed elsewhere. I'm lucky enough to have both my parents to help me. Luckier than most."

Ino sat down neatly next to her, Minato on her lap.

"Now that the war is over, maybe you'll come and see us more often?" Ino suggested hopefully, her hands resting lightly on the infant's head.

"That would be nice," Sakura replied with a shaky smile. "I'm going to be on cleanup operations and recall duties for a while, but I think I'll be back here at least _some_ of the time. Not like before."

"It's been a strange war..." sighed Ino, "I'm so glad to see the end of it."

"Yes," agreed Sakura, "it feels like a lifetime since it began."

"What do you think Naruto would have said?" asked Ino. "About the war, about us fighting to avenge him?"

"When he was murdered," Sakura said slowly, "although this meant Madara couldn't cast the world into a genjutsu, it meant that relations between the Five were shattered. There was doubt and betrayal everywhere, and it wasn't just vengeance that fueled the war. We loved him, all of us, and that thought kept us going, while we fought to prevent our way of life from being taken from us. I think he'd know we tried to do the right thing."

"That's what I think too," Ino smiled, "I think he'd be proud."

They settled into a comfortable silence then, listening to the breeze rustling the healthy leaves in the trees surrounding the park. The distant sound of children's laughter was like music to Sakura's ears, having only heard tense orders and screams of agony for the duration of the war.

"I hear you made quite a name for yourself in the past year," mentioned Ino lightly, playing with her daughter's hair.

"Exaggerations, I'm sure," replied Sakura, "you know how things get twisted by word of mouth."

"Oh," said Ino with a mixture of disappointment and relief. "So the rumour about you cutting three Stone jounin in half isn't true..."

"Well..." Sakura shifted uncomfortably, "It's not that it's not _true_, it just sounds more dramatic when you say it like that."

"No way! So you _did_ do that!" exclaimed Ino, "How did it happen?"

"There was a lot of fighting, and my teammates were in trouble," Sakura recounted. "These three beefy guys were in my way, and I think one of them was about to summon something. I managed to loop my wire around them, heated it up and pulled. I just got really, really lucky."

"If you say so..." Ino grinned, the familiar expression taking Sakura back to her childhood. "So tell me, did you meet any attractive, talented young men at the border?"

Trust Ino to make an unglamorous, bloody life or death situation all about _boys_.

"No, pig," Sakura laughed, "no nice young men I'm afraid. Just sweaty, smelly comrades and a whole lot of fighting."

Sakura found herself amazed at the sound of her own laughter. It had been a very long time since she had heard it, and it felt foreign in her throat.

While they had been talking, little Minato had squirmed from Ino's lap onto Sakura's, and had begun playing with her candy-coloured hair, tugging gently at the strands with delight. She clearly found Sakura's hair colour fascinating.

"Oh, she likes you!" exclaimed Ino happily, clapping her hands together.

The tiny girl gave Sakura a grin, spread wide across her youthful face to reveal small white teeth. She had her father's grin, the embodiment of all that was carefree and pure in the expression. If only her hair had been a little more spiky, then she could have passed for Naruto when he was that age.

"Sakura?" Ino's voice lilted with concern. "You're crying, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry Ino." Sakura returned the confused child to its mother, standing up and teetering oddly on her feet. "I can't be here anymore."

* * *

Tsunade sat at her desk, looking over the top of her laced fingers at Sakura. The familiar scene calmed Sakura's nerves a little as she bowed and entered the room. Little had changed in the design, as Tenzou had rebuilt the Hokage's tower to resemble the original closely.

Upon seeing Sakura, Tsunade's head rose off her hands, and her eyes widened a fraction, then narrowed.

"Sakura..." she said, "I didn't think I'd be seeing you so soon after your debriefing. What's bothering you?"

Tsunade's voice had become somewhat more hoarse over the war, the only sign that she had aged.

"I'm requesting to be put back in the field," stated Sakura quietly, "today."

A long, tired sigh was her reply, before the silence began to stretch on longer than Sakura felt comfortable with.

"Shishou?" Sakura looked up at her old mentor, surprised to see such a sad, yet fond smile on Tsunade's usually stern features.

"I knew something like this would happen to you," Tsunade explained. "You're too good of a ninja to let your fear stop you from doing your duties, but you're not quite good enough to stop those duties from affecting you."

Sakura remained silent.

"You're something like a cross between predator and prey; constantly alert for attack, ambushes, but you have the burden of being a killer. I think...you should stay here for a while." Tsunade fixed Sakura's eyes with her own. "The war is virtually over, and I called you back for more than one reason."

"What are you trying to say?" Sakura was confused. She had done everything the Hokage had asked, hadn't she? Jumped over every obstacle she was presented with, for the sake of the village. Konoha, the village she loved with all of her heart.

"You're almost like a different person, Sakura," Tsunade reasoned. "It's like your mind is somewhere else entirely, and this is just what's left."

"War changes everybody..." Sakura protested, trailing off, unhappy with where the conversation was going. "And I _am _here, and I need to be somewhere else. Shishou, don't make me beg, just give me an assignment."

Sakura's posture, although correct and polite in the presence of the Hokage, was that of a cornered animal. Tsunade looked on with resignation.

"There is an operative," she began gravely, "stationed in Wind country. He has been acting under my orders, and solely carrying out dangerous espionage and assassination missions throughout the war. You may know him as...Konoha no Kyuuketsuki. _Konoha's vampire_."

Sakura nodded mutely. She _had _heard of the assassin; the name muttered fearfully under the breath of enemy shinobi when they were giving bad news to their superiors. Tales of black wings, a mask and hood, and troops left with the life sucked out of them; a living horror story for those who called him 'enemy.'

"It's time to bring him home."

* * *

Sakura's apartment, its cleanliness, the normality it offered; the lazy darkness at the window mocked her, daring her _not_ to leave it. Her small, childish bed that monopolised the north-facing wall beckoned her, invited her to lie down and sleep in her past, and _bathe _in it until she was a memory herself.

Sakura knew that she had no choice but to leave. To stay in the village would mean the slow decay of whatever was left of her heart, despite her love of Konoha and its people. She needed to be _away_ and _free_. Far away from the memories of those she had loved, who had died.

Her supplies seemed almost to pack themselves, assembling tightly in her small bag. Practice had made perfect, and she packed only the necessities for a simple reconnoissance mission, keeping her pack light but well equipped.

The silhouettes of houses cut patterns against Konoha's sky, made visible only by the dying light of the setting sun. The air, heavy with precipitation and the smell of wood fires was in itself a memory; a sensory trigger that made Sakura pause to push away thoughts of missions with team 7 out of her mind.

Around her, the stillness of the night was complete, the moonlight glinting off her forehead protector like silver rime. Sakura moved through the dark foliage with purpose. A long journey lay ahead of her.

Clutching the pristine scroll she received from the Hokage as proof for 'Kyuuketsuki,' Sakura allowed her thoughts to wander lightly, skirting round the mysterious image she had of the assassin. Would he be as the rumours suggested; evil and vicious? Perhaps he would be more like Itachi, cold yet courteous. She couldn't help but hope for the latter, as she was in no mood to deal with a renegade killer.

The darkened trees, cast deep, long shadows that made the moon flicker across her eyes as she flew along her path.

Used to nighttime travel, her body guided itself towards Wind country, confident in its movements, while Sakura's thoughts were her own, plagued with flashes of what ifs and idyllic daydreams, before they were swiftly crushed by her conscious effort. Instead they turned to mysteries and puzzles. Her mind turned back to the last mission she had taken with Genma, back in Kiku village;

_Sakura threw herself back on the bed provided for her by the village head, wincing as it was discovered to be harder than anticipated._

_The mission was complete. A pathetic excuse for a mission that any first-year medical ninja could complete effortlessly. The outbreak of flu had taken little more than a few hours to assess and treat. She and Genma would be heading back in the morning, as there was nothing more for them to do. _

_Suddenly, a familiar noise assaulted her ears, and impacted the foundations of the building._

_A sick feeling arose in Sakura's throat, and she swallowed bile. _

_Surely there was no way Deidara could be here? He couldn't possibly be cleared to leave the village, which would mean that he had escaped, ruining all chances of becoming one of Konoha's own._

_She sped out of the small inn, foregoing shoes in favour of speed. She saw Gemna approaching from her right, and she joined him anxiously._

"_Any ideas what that was?" he asked her, frowning. He was wearing only his jounin trousers, clearly having come straight from the baths. He didn't even appear to have any weapons on him._

"_I hope not," Sakura replied honestly._

_The pair hurried towards the noise, entering the dense foliage that surrounded the small border village. _

_Three figures were involved in a fight, it seemed, with the two males cornering the female._

_Sakura was about to angrily intervene, when she felt a hand on her shoulder, stopping her._

"_They're shinobi," explained Genma. "We can't risk interfering; our actions could have big repercussions in foreign affairs."_

_That made sense, and Sakura cursed herself for not noticing the skill in which the woman regained her balance and formed a fighting stance, and the stealthy approach of the men in front of her. However, the woman appeared to be injured, favouring her left side considerably, and Sakura doubted that she would survive the fight. Guilt tore into her at standing by while someone was murdered, but shinobi guidelines were very clear, and since none of the shinobi's forehead protectors were visible, they could not risk interfering._

_The injured woman was skilled, Sakura observed, as she managed to fend off her attackers with precise, rapid taijutsu. Sakura didn't recognise the style._

_The woman appeared to have on of the men in a sort of choking hold, while she kicked the other into a tree with a sideways flick from her left leg. No, wait, the angle was wrong, was she using some sort of jutsu? Sakura couldn't sense enough chakra being expelled for a jutsu, so craned her neck, attempting to see what the woman was doing._

_She gasped. Loudly._

_The woman looked up as her opponent fell to the floor, dead. The mouths on her hands licked her lips, and she brushed her short, black hair out of her eyes before squinting up at them viciously, as she sank into her fighting stance once more._

_There was no mistake, Sakura had seen it in his memories. The woman below them was Kurotsuchi Mei. Deidara's cousin.  
_

* * *

**A:N/** Thank you so much for the incredible amount of reviews last chapters, although quite a lot of them were like 'wtf?" etc. =.=" I apologise for the cliffhanger, but it's just the way I roll, baby!

Not much Deidara in this chapter. Well, not in person anyway. I think he was very much there in spirit.

So, time for more _'Wtf? Stop with the cliffies, you idiot writer!'_ Then review, my beloved readers! You fuel my story, but you know this already. :p


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